Back to the Beginning
by DanniCat
Summary: Harry decides to go back in time to stop Riddle from ever becoming Voldemort. It takes nearly thirty years but eventually the auror, husband, and father of three has it all figured out. He soars back a hundred years but will it be enough time to fix what had gone wrong?
1. Prologue

Ron was the one who gave him the idea. Although the redhead had no idea that his joke would actually be taken as even remotely serious.

"Damn, if only someone had killed Riddle back when he was in school. He had to be an asshole back then too, right?"

It was only a few months after the final battle and everyone was struggling to find themselves in this now Voldemort free world. Which would be why everyone over seventeen and under forty was currently drunk out of their minds.

They'd been talking about the trials and how they were all ready to just forget about the war entirely when Ron had made his random comment, which had resulted in a toast. But Harry couldn't just ignore what the words could mean.

Imagine living in a world where Neville Longbottom grew up in a loving, supportive, and nurturing household. Without the stressors of his parents' conditions he may have outstripped anyone. Maybe Snape would not only be alive, he'd be willing to give out points to Hufflepuffs (in no universe would he ever give points to Gryffindor). Draco Malfoy may not have been a prat… Okay maybe that was a little far-fetched but it totally could have happened. Possibly.

He pushed away from the table with a brief, mumble of the need for a bathroom. Which the youngest Weasley offered to help with. Harry denied her with a slight smile, not entirely sure if that was actually supposed to be an innuendo or if it was really just awful flirting.

Harry had finally given in under Ginny's badgering. She was cute enough and already a part of his family. Who cared if he didn't really want to sleep with her? It was still early in their relationship. But they were technically dating and Harry was quite sick of the smug looks Hermione and the Weasley's kept sending their way because of that.

He stopped along the way to shake hands and smile at people as they toasted him. He'd seen a picture of him in the paper this morning and knew that his smile looked real, sincere, and humble as he accepted everyone's thanks. A far cry from the near meltdown he had experienced the first time someone thanked him.

Finally, he made it into the restroom.

The door shut behind him and Harry had no hesitation and no regrets as he sealed the door behind him. The noise outside barely leaking through as the spells muffled their voices and left Harry alone with his thoughts.

He moved over to the sinks taking a moment to splash cold water on his face, sponging it away with the arm of his robe. He stared at the pale face in the mirror, taking note of the pale forehead, flushed cheeks, and the undeniable wrinkles which were already beginning to form at 18 years old.

"This is all so stupid!" He slammed the side of his fists against the mirror, not noticing the loud crack that echoed with the shattering glass, too caught in the circling words racing through his mind.

"I… I wish I could change all of it. No Dark Lord. No Boy-Who-Lived. Just Harry and his parents. And Fred. And Sirius. Fortescue. And even Bellatrix. Everyone and no war to fight."

He shook his head as he looked into his reflection, "I'm not a hero. I'm nothing special. The only reason anyone sees that is because they're all delusional and pathetic. How much effort would it have taken the aurors to take him down. How many spells did they think he could defend at once? They all just gave up and accepted his power. I was the only one who could bloody well stand up to him and I had to die to do it. Then I had to come back because my death still wasn't enough for them."

His complaints were interrupted by the sound of a stall door opening. Harry flinched back at what the sound meant and nearly wanted to cry as a familiar face appeared around the corner.

"Malfoy."

"Potter. You should really learn to clear a room before you go spewing your inner diatribe."

Harry shook his head, "Whatever, Malfoy."

He moved towards the door but stopped when Malfoy called his name. He spun reluctantly his shoulders tight as he took in the blond.

"What."

"There is a precedence for time travel, if a person is desperate enough. They can go back at least fifty years."

Harry blinked, "Don't pull my leg, Malfoy. I know the only way we can go back in time is a Time Turner. And they work for a few hours. You can't go back more than that."

"As I said, you have to be desperate enough. Most wizards only need a few hours and even that is relatively rare. It takes a desperate man and a valid reason to use a time turner. But it takes someone who is desperate, crazy, idiotic, and potentially suicidal to attempt more than that. I figure you just might qualify."

"I've never even heard of anything like this."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Believe what you will. I have to return to the… festivities now. After all they are currently celebrating the end of the Death Eater trials. So happy that all of the monsters were locked away."

Harry bit his lip, "For what it's worth, I don't think your mother deserved to be charged. Dark Mark or not she saved my life and without her we never would have won the war."

"It's worth nothing, Potter. Now would you mind removing your charms."

The dark-haired teen shook his head and waved his wand, the wards dissolving in an instant and the blond practically diving through the doors.

He thought about what Draco had said and made a note to look up information on the Malfoy family and time-travel. For the moment though he just splashed water on his face and downed his last dose of pepper-up.

He watched as the dark circles beneath his eyes receded and he looked the part of the fresh-faced savior of the wizarding world. Time to go and play his part.

(0,0)

For the next three years, Harry played his part. He dated Ginny, proposed to her at the Ball commemorating the third anniversary of the Final Battle. Ron and Hermione had been married the previous summer and Hermione was settling in at the Ministry. Apparently, they were debating trying for their first child. Harry figured they'd probably end up waiting a little longer seeing as Ron and Harry were fresh out of Auror training (Oh goodie, more fighting dark wizards) and Hermione was being promoted to head of her department.

Through it all Harry kept up a haphazard watch for any information on this Malfoy woman who had figured out how to go back in time over fifty years. For three years he played the part of the hero and smiled for reporters, dated the daughter of the light and helped the weak grow strong. He worked hard to encourage people to rehabilitate those who had been dark.

With Hermione's help they had instituted a program for werewolves where Wolfsbane was provided by students in exchange for community service and ingredients. Vampires were even helped when Draco Malfoy developed a potion for satiating a vampire's bloodlust. Hermione and Harry were quick to procure him and Order of Merlin and his name soon decorated the plaque alongside that of Snape's.

It wasn't until nearly seven years after Draco had first mentioned it that Harry had any luck.

Ginny was near-bursting with their first child and, since she knew Harry was researching for a case in the Ministry library, she asked him to pick up a book on developmental psychology. Harry was more than a little worn down by this point. It was exhausting playing the loving husband when he so often wanted to curse Ginny's neediness. He kept reminding himself that she was pregnant; and it was good for the baby's health to keep her happy. He started cringing as he remembered her request last night for chocolate-covered shrimp.

His distraction in his thoughts had him startling as he ran into a shelf. One book fell to the ground, sliding under a nearby table, and Harry shook his head to focus back. Bending down to pick up the book, he sat up in shock and managed to slam his head against the table.

Cursing slightly as he rubbed the back of his head, he managed to retrieve the book and stood still for a few moments as he attempted to take in the title.

 _Anthology of Time Travel: Hearsay or Success Stories?_

Without really thinking about it he slid the book into his bag and grabbed the book Ginny requested before hurrying out the door.

Harry didn't have much chance to peruse the book until months after James was born. He'd been a little torn about naming the boy about two people who meant so much to him, but as James let his first smile curve his lips, Harry couldn't think about anything more perfect than his son.

Finally, one day when Ginny was practicing with the Harpies and James was down for his nap. Harry dug through his bag for paperwork on his latest case when he pulled out the small anthology. He bit his lip, glancing at the unsolved case in his bag, to be fair it was about twenty-years-old though. Definitely a cold case. Any evidence left wouldn't exactly be gone tomorrow if it had lasted this long.

Harry chewed on his lip for a moment before flipping to the contents. Smiling when he saw a familiar name on the last page.

"Malfoy, Aurora."

He quickly flipped through the pages until he got to the one where Aurora's story was written. Raise his ceramic tea cup to his lips and drank steadily before he allowed himself to take in the woman's tale.

 _'This is easily one of the most difficult to believe stories, yet it holds the greatest likelihood for truth, should the late Mrs. Malfoy's words hold true. Her story as seen here was taken verbatim from the memories of her granddaughter. The only one whom Aurora Malfoy nee Longbottom ever told her story too…_

 _'You see, my child, it wasn't always as easy as this. The first time I found myself growing old I had panicked and been pushed to strive harder and harder for everything I had worked for. You see your grandfather had died. No, not his death last year, which I know you were aware of. He died what would have been 60 years ago to you, but to me… I can never tell if it feels like days, or hours, or months, but I remember it even if it was truly 115 years before now._

 _'It was a simple day, truly nothing remarkable happened. But I have always been a touch scatter-brained you see and that day, when I'd gone to luncheon with my parents, I… I forgot to put out the flames on my cauldron._

 _'It shouldn't have been a problem you see, the flames were innocuous and were helping to settle the potion they were working on, but I always put them out. That day though, my darling son, Roman, your father, wandered into my workroom. He knew he wasn't allowed, but he'd been hoping to surprise his father with a present and needed parchment. He accidentally knocked over a potion that had been on a shelf and it fell into my potion._

 _'I… I never could have predicted it. The heat from the flames had kept the potion just hot enough that the new potion made it unstable. It exploded. Soaking the lab and young Roman. He was seven at the time. His father heard the explosion and my dear Titus didn't hesitate to race inside. He pulled the broken tables off our son and carried him from the room sealing it with a protective charm._

 _'The explosion hadn't killed our son, but the potion soaking him did. I was called home in time to hear my son apologize for breaking into my lab. I barely managed to tell him there was nothing to be sorry for when the pain won out and his heart stopped._

 _'I was desolate, inconsolable with the guilt, but I promised your grandfather that I would be alright. I would push through and we would ward the room better against any future children. We sealed that room permanently and bought a brand new lab to install in the basement, along with my experimental charms room and my husband's dueling chamber. We created a specific ward on the door which no one could pass without us and installed a bell charm so that we could be signaled._

 _'What we didn't know was that the potion explosion had released a toxic gas. Within a fortnight of burying our son, my husband grew deathly ill. I was a widow before the year was up. The only thing that kept me going were my husband's last words. He told me to be strong, to continue using my genius and to never let their deaths prevent me from achieving all that I could. He told me to find someone who could love me as he did and that he loved me till the ends of time before the light fell from his eyes._

 _'I threw myself into my work and was working on charming jewelry to never tarnish and self-polish when I noticed something on top of my desk. My husband's hourglass. Titus had always claimed the sands were a more effective motivator and kept him on track. When I went to flip it I couldn't help wondering why I couldn't just push the sand back the way it came._

 _'It took nearly fifteen years of dedicated work, but I created the first time-turner. However, it would only work for mere hours at a time. Potentially for a day, perhaps a week but it was too challenging, too iffy. If you saw yourself- you could destroy it all. Besides I needed to go back nearly 17 years by that point._

 _'I resumed my work, gradually I was able to perform further and further hops through time. But never as far as I needed to. I was nearly 86 before I found the solution. It had taken 50 years of work. I'll not tell the details as someone without a decent cause could alter everything and destroy the universe as we see it. But it took a potion, a charm, and a time-turner to make it happen._

 _'I went back to that day and waited until I left the manor. I hurried to douse the fire and move the cauldron into a safe corner. Away from all of shelves. I cast a stabilizing charm and left parchment on the work table in plain sight._

 _'I hid myself in a corner, ready to intervene more but hoping it would not be necessary. Within the hour my little Roman made his appearance. He found the parchment and left with a skip. He'd never seen that they were notes I had made the night before in this time. Roman needed to be protected and that wouldn't happen if he wasn't caught._

 _'As the door clicked shut I felt a pain in my chest. I bent over, assuming this was the end and ready to accept my death if it meant my son and husband survived. Instead though I was yanked through space, similar to apparition and found myself staring into the young face of my dear mother and father._

 _'I glanced down at myself and found the body of a woman in her thirties and made my hasty apologies as I immediately rushed home. There I found my beloved Roman and Titus. I never told them this story or why I insisted on moving our labs to the dungeons but they loved me regardless. And I have lived my life as perhaps it should have been._

 _'I'm ready to leave this plane now. My son is taken care of and my husband is missing me. No matter the cost we'll be together again. I have spent 51 years without my husband now, I plan to not waste another day. Take care of your father, mother, and brothers. You need them more than you can know. Take care of yourself as well, marry well and be happy, my child._

 _'Here the woman's granddaughter says her grandmother had smiled at her, brushing her hair from her face with a smile. She then settled back on her pillows and breathed a huge breath on which flew her husband's name. A quiet rattle then echoed in her throat and the woman stilled as if falling into a comforting warmth.'_

Harry shut the book just as James' cries split the air. He comforted his infant son, changing, feeding, and then playing with a smile but half of his mind was solely on the woman and how she had done the impossible. Perhaps though, perhaps it was possible, if one were desperate enough…

(0,0)

The next years passed quickly as Harry buried himself in his research. Research no one knew about aside from himself. He kept it out of public eye, the last thing he needed was a report on his dwelling or depression or better yet obsession. He had a strong presence in raising all three of his children. He was always assuring his kids that it didn't matter where they were sorted.

It was a bit of a shock to hear that Albus Severus was in Slytherin, more so when he admitted that he'd chosen Slytherin in the hopes of staying with his new best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. Harry really tried his best to support his son but it was hard to wrap his mind around his son choosing to be in the same house as a Malfoy when he had done the exact opposite.

It also didn't help that his son was so much like him. Harry hated anyone talking to him about his choices, it always felt demeaning. So he knew that Albus felt the separation, but he didn't know how to close the gap without making his son feel stifled. He'd already repeated his belief that it didn't matter which house he was in, but could tell his son didn't believe him.

Which was fair. Because no matter how close their sons were, there seemed to be a wall between himself and Draco Malfoy.

It all changed when Al wrote home in his third year asking to spend the break at the Malfoy Manor to help his friend cope with the loss of his mother. Harry was the one calming Ginny and he told Albus to come home first. He'd spend a few days at home and then Harry would escort him over personally. Harry took those days to cook some things that he thought might be good. Granted Malfoy had house elves so it wasn't like he would starve, but he thought it might be nice to have something anyways.

Mostly though Harry just didn't know what else he could do.

Ginny wasn't happy with Harry's interaction. She'd never really denied Al his friend, but Harry knew she still didn't like the elder Malfoy. Harry thought it would be good to heal the gap, Al and Scorpius would probably be friends forever seeing as Al had followed all of Harry's habits up to this point.

It would be easier for everyone involved if Harry and Malfoy could at least learned to be civil with each other. So Harry came over with a casserole that his aunt used to swear by and a plate of cookies and other desserts that Albus had helped to make, insisting on making some of Scorp's favorites.

So Harry knocked on their front door and thanked the elf who greeted them and led them to the parlor where Scorpius and Malfoy were waiting.

Scorpius smiled at his friend and only nodded at Harry before dragging his friend off.

"My apologies," Malfoy said as he frowned after his son, "His is typically better mannered than that."

Harry nodded, "I'm aware. I've met him on the platform a few times. He seems polite and bright, it's no wonder he and Al get along so well."

Draco snorted, "I still can't believe you named your son 'Albus.' The poor kid."

Harry grinned, "His middle name is Severus. I thought 'Al' would be better than 'Sev'."

The blond blinked and Harry found he quite enjoyed getting one over on the man even more satisfying than when they had been kids. The older Slytherin quickly recovered though and gestured for Harry to join him calling his elf for some drinks. He graciously accepted the offer and they both sat in silence for long moments.

It was Harry who broke the silence, "So what have you been up to lately?"

Draco blinked, "Really, Potter?"

"You should probably call me 'Harry,' I feel as though we'll be seeing even more of each other now. And yes. I want to be able to see beyond the spoilt teen who was drug into a disaster he never asked for. And to apologize for some of the crap I pulled, but I can't seem to drag the words forward for the Malfoy I knew."

The man nodded, "I'm mostly working with potions, as you know. I still fly occasionally but most of my time lately has been overseeing the Malfoy fortune and our investments in businesses."

Harry nodded, "I understand that. Well the spending time with work and missing out on flying. I am lucky though because all three of my kids like to fly, as well as Ginny, so they drag me out every weekend. Other than that, and cases, I've mostly been researching different topics."

The dark-haired man seemed surprised to hear those words come out of his mouth. He'd hidden his obsession quite well over the past 14 years. It was quite a surprise to hear himself admitting it and to Malfoy of all people.

To his credit, aside from a slow blink, Malfoy seemed to accept the words, "I never thought I'd see the day the Gryffindor Golden Boy started spending time in a library pouring over books."

Harry snorted, "Whatever you do, don't tell Hermione. She'll never let me live it down."

Draco laughed slightly and Harry found himself grinning as the tension faded from the blond's face- however temporarily. After this though the tension seemed to settle in and Harry found himself wanting to depart before he overstayed his welcome.

"Albus and I made some things for you. I doubt they're as good as your elves' but we wanted to bring something nonetheless."

The blond nodded and accepted the offering, starting when he noticed the treats the were assembled, "These look wonderful, you made them?"

Harry shrugged, "Al helped, he wanted to make sure some of Scorpius' favorites were in there."

"Scorpius hates fudge."

Black hair shook as hair denied the claim, "He eats nothing else at our home and tends to steal it out of Albus' care packages. Apparently he won't eat it here because he knows you like it and he doesn't want you to have to give up any of it for him."

Draco blinked and Harry carefully avoided staring at the wetness that suddenly appeared in the blond's eyes.

"I should get going though, I promised Lily that we'd go visit her godmother today."

He made his way to the door after Draco absently nodded, his eyes still flicking back and forth between the fudge and the door their son's had disappeared through.

"You know our floo address, but if it's an emergency you can call 'Prongs' in after and it will let you bypass the security. And I'll get the message no matter where I am. Also I…" Harry swallowed before forcing himself to continue, "I am truly sorry for your loss and if you need anything, to talk or go get drunk or whatever you can feel free to call me then as well."

He hurried to the door, not really wanting to hear Draco's polite refusal but was stopped by a quiet sentence which had him smiling before he headed for the front gate and the edge of the apparition wards.

"Thank you, Harry."

(0,0)

Draco and Harry would never share the same relationship that they had with Blaise and Ron respectively but they grew to be friendly rivals and were often seen racing each other for a snitch in the backyard or tearing each other down harsh words countered with warm smiles.

Albus and Scorpius loved that their dads were getting along and were quite often found instigating the verbal sparring matches. Eventually Harry was found over at Malfoy Manor to watch Scorpius and Al while Draco went to a business meeting. Which was how Harry discovered the Malfoy family library.

Every weekend Harry would spend an afternoon or morning at the Manor and would managed to finagle his way into the library. When Draco caught him the blond merely shook his head and asked that Potter keep an eye out for a solution to pickled doxy brains contaminating the wormroot in his latest invention.

Which Harry found the answer for three weeks later. And so Draco ended up bouncing ideas off Harry at their weekly pub night and would join Harry in his library forays. Ginny eventually grew to tolerate Draco but Harry could see that she would no more become his friend than Ron or Hermione would. Harry understood that though, Draco had been a prat for years but he'd never really done much to Harry most of their fights had been over his treatment of Ron and Hermione.

Harry eventually settled into a routine. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursdays were for work and so long as he was home in time to say goodnight, Ginny wouldn't fuss. Wednesdays evenings were spent at the pub with Draco. Friday nights were date night and he would take Ginny out somewhere nice. Saturday was when the kids went to visit their friends and Sunday's were family day.

During the school year nothing changed, except Harry had fewer bodies to drag around on the weekends. Ginny retired from quidditch the year Lily turned 13 and began her own small business selling robes and competing with Madame Malkin's.

Eventually Harry managed to discover the secret to time-turners and made five of them, each more successful than the last. He willingly handed the first four of them over to the new Minister of Magic, Hermione Granger.

So the years passed and Harry watched as James' crossed the stage in the first Hogwart's graduation Harry had ever seen. A year later he was able to hug both Al and Scorp who had officially started dating the year before much to Draco's dismay as he handed Harry 5 galleons. Lily graduated two years later and Harry smiled brightly as she was kissed in congratulations by her boyfriend the four-year-older Dax Longbottom.

It was two weeks after her graduation that Harry stumbled upon the answer he'd been looking for. Buried in the dusty shelves Harry found a strange looking lock. Not having the time nor the desire to puzzle it out himself he called over Draco who called and elf.

Within moments the drawer was sliding open and Harry gasped at the name embossed in the top corner of the dragonhide journal. Aurora Malfoy.

It took only a few weeks of reading for Harry to find the last few pieces of his puzzle and he eagerly set out to finish his project. Ginny, Draco, and the kids all complained as Harry disappeared, locked away in his study for two weeks. But finally, Harry had done it. The time-turner was perfect, the potion made, and the spell modified for what Harry needed.

He spent the next week with his family. Proving to his children that he loved them and cursing himself for risking their existence with his plan. But he could see how the death of Fred still haunted his family and knew how hard it was for Teddy growing up without his parents, hearing that they were heroes did nothing to soften the despair. He could see the pain in Draco's eyes when he received the letter saying his mother had passed away in Azkaban and knew how much he himself had missed his parents.

He could think of nothing he'd rather do than stay with his family but knew that they all deserved the chance their children were getting. The chance to grow up away from this war.

He spoiled Albus on his birthday and made sure to get a present for Scorpius as well, thrilled when Draco gave them his blessing of their 'secret' engagement and offered a small home for them to use when they wished to start their life together.

Altogether he was happy and proud of all that had happened and smiled at the thought that his family would be happy and strong whether or not he succeeded in his mission.

So in the early morning of a day late in March 2026, Harry dipped the time turner in the potion after stirring 365 time anti-clockwise. Dropped the chain around his neck before spinning on his heel and standing on a familiar street corner he'd ghosted around for the last ten years or so. He grabbed a vial from his pocket and thanked Draco's genius as he swallowed it down.

Nodding to himself he pulled on the chain and began carefully turning the small nob in 100 smooth rotations. Holding the twist in place he raised his wand. He made as large of a circle as he could as he began to speak. As his voice reached its peak he pointed his wand straight above his head and slashed it violently to the ground as the last syllable echoed in his ears, releasing the time turner and sending it spiraling as Harry was sucked into the vortex.

(0,0)

Harry blinked slowly as he raised his head. He was standing exactly where he wanted to be. He glanced down at his body and frowned at his skinny state, he'd forgotten how small he had been. He looked around furtively and was glad to see that no one had seen his sudden appearance.

He frowned at the building he had observed for so many years and was disappointed to find that it wasn't much different than it had been. He worried he had messed up the spell but settled on the front steps. Regardless of whether he had been successful or not, Harry was exhausted from all of the magic he'd used.

His head fell to his chest as the light of dawn began peeking through the clouds. He dozed lightly for what felt like hours, never really falling deep enough to dream. He startled awake as the door behind him was yanked open sending him crashing back onto the hard floor. He winced at the collision and rubbed at his head.

Slowly he came to notice a voice reprimanding him and he opened his eyes to see two pairs of shoes. One worn and holey, the other clean and practical. He followed the shoes up to seemingly appropriate garb and further up to faces.

He couldn't help but smile slightly as he took in calculating dark-grey eyes and tight lips beneath a carefully styled head of brown hair.

His last thought before he gave into the pounding at the back of his head was that he had done it. And that an 11-year-old Tom Riddle's glare was nearly as intimidating as his 60-year-old counterpart's.

 **Okay! So I always swore I'd never write a time travel piece. But after a prompt from a dear friend for the triplet's story and inspiration from one of my favorite stories ever (If you haven't read "The Love of a Good Wizard" you need to. It's on AO3 and is a wonderfully written Tom/Harry piece) I just needed to write down this idea.**

 **Let me know if you like it so far and I'll get the next chapter up soon. Every time I get 10 reviews I'll update within 24 hours. I should update once a week regardless, but we know I get distracted. Review keep my muse fed and inspired! If you're looking to have input on my stories, or want to see minor expansions on old works check out my FB page under DanniCat!**

 **Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you soon!**


	2. Chapter 1

When Harry managed to finally pull himself back into consciousness he severely regretted it. The pounding in his head was unbearable. The light streaking in through the dirty windows was blinding and the ratty blanket that had been thrown over him was likely the source of the foul odor that had his nose wrinkling.

He would have let himself fall back into the blessed silence were it not for the feeling that he was being watched. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before slowly letting his eyelids part as he began to take in the rest of the room.

Harry sat on a ratty but solid small single bed with worn sheets and the holey blanket. The pillow was flat and it seemed that his head had squished all of the stuffing to the sides. The wallpaper existed in scraps and the floors were in desperate need of a cleaning. Which was when he noticed a vaguely familiar armoire and another bed. Practically a duplicate of his own, albeit with a slightly nicer blanket.

Upon it was the source of the staring.

He forced his eyes to focus on the figure and managed to refrain from flinching as the cold brown gaze bored into him.

"Hello?"

An eyebrow rose but there was no response from the other boy.

Harry frowned and bit his lip. He felt like he knew this boy… He felt like he, well like he was supposed to be here for this boy. But Harry had no idea why he had felt that way. All he remembered was Aunt Petunia throwing him out of the house and walking like he always did. He usually came back after the sunset and crawled into his cupboard without a word.

But he doesn't remember how he got to the steps of the little worn-down building or why. All he remembers is the sharp relief of life followed by a triumphant feeling of success. Then the dark eyes that were right now judging his worth as he tried to figure out what happened.

"My name's Harry."

More silence but at least the judgmental eyebrow had disappeared.

"Um… Do you know where I am?"

No answer appeared forthcoming. So Harry just nodded once and turned his gaze away from the taller boy and back to his ratty blanket where he tugged at the loose strands without tearing them out any further.

"I'll just have to ask the lady from before I guess…"

When the little boy still said nothing, Harry leaned back on the bed and sighed. This way nicer than his cupboard, his toes didn't touch the wall and he could stretch out. Not to mention the fact that the little spiders weren't crawling all over his face.

There were several moments of silence before the other boy seemed to deem the situation dire enough to actually communicate with the Harry child that now occupied his room.

"Go on then." His voice startled the younger boy and Harry nearly fell of his bed, causing Tom to smirk.

Harry frowned, "What do you mean?"

"You were going to ask Mrs. Cole something."

Harry nodded, "I am."

"Then why are you still here?"

"I'm not allowed to leave a room unless someone's come to get me." Harry sounded uncertain, he wondered if the rules were changed here.

The other boy frowned, "Why not? The door is not locked."

"I'm a freak and I upset people when I'm in their presence. I'm supposed to be quiet and pretend that I don't exist."

Harry watched as the other boy's head tilted to the side as though he was staring at a half-finished puzzle and needed to figure out what the picture was supposed to be. Harry felt uncomfortable and tucked his gaze away and decided it was safer to wait than to risk breaking the rules.

The boy looked critically at him but made no move to confirm or deny his decision so Harry did nothing else. He gently ran his fingers over the tattered blanket. He could tell it was old, but it was softer than anything he had ever been allowed. At least he figured it was okay for him to touch it. He suddenly pulled his hand back. Moving slowly carefully he left the bed and backed into the nearest corner. Which just so happened to leave him looking at the boy again.

His head was turned nearly sideways as he took Harry in. The green-eyed boy met his gaze. This boy didn't seem like Dudley, but he wasn't like Harry either. He wondered what the rules were here, obviously the boy was okay with looking at Harry, so that was one rule Harry didn't have to worry about anymore. Maybe he could be seen here…

"Why are you in the corner?"

Harry blinked slowly, "It's the rules. I was sleeping before so that might be okay, but I can't break the rules when I'm awake."

"What are these rules you keep talking about?"

"I'm not allowed to be too noisy, I'm not allowed to make a mess. I must clean, everything must be spotless. I must stay in my room and pretend that I don't exist. I'm not to be a bother, any more than my mere existence already accrues naturally."

The taller boy blinked in response and lifted himself from the bed. He cast an odd look in Harry's direction before making his own way out of the room with a haughty air. He was obviously issuing a challenge to Harry, proving that _he_ could leave freely. But Dudley had down that many times, and Harry now knew a trick when he saw one.

Harry huddled in the corner of the now silent room and waited anxiously to see what would happen. Was the boy telling the lady that Harry had broken the rules? He hadn't meant to. Everything just seemed so fuzzy right now. Nothing was making sense.

He shook his head, he vaguely remembered that he was supposed to be here. He'd chosen to be here. He also knew that something was wrong with… well here. He had no idea what exactly it was that had brought him here. The last thing he remembered was Uncle Vernon kicking him out of the house. Harry had meant to go back, he had to Aunt Petunia always yelled at him for staying out too long. Plus they may lock the door again.

Maybe the people here could send him back? All he would have to do would be to give them the Dursley's address. He frowned down at the floor and felt his forehead crease- he couldn't remember the address. He didn't even know where he was now. Had he hit his head?

He shrugged to himself, it probably didn't matter though. He couldn't say that he really wanted to go back. Maybe they had left him here. They had threatened him plenty of times with the orphanage, maybe they had finally had enough of his freakishness and had kicked him out of the car. Harry frowned, but he didn't remember that. He couldn't remember a lot of things though so who knew what was going on.

Harry eyed the ratty old blanket on the bed. An actual bed. With clean sheets, an extra blanket, a real pillow, and a window! If those were actually his, then maybe the orphanage wouldn't be that bad… He glanced over at the other boy's side of the room. If he got to stay here, maybe he would actually have a friend! And it looked like the other boy was allowed on the bed. He even had a few toys and they didn't look like they were broken.

Harry nodded once to himself, still firmly in the corner. He wouldn't tell them anything. If they figured it out so be it, but for now…

For now, Wool's Orphanage suited Harry just fine.

(0,0)

It turned out, Tom (the boy had a name after all) had gone to tell Mrs. Cole about the new boy and how he wasn't feeling very well. And was acting quite strangely.

Mrs. Cole had been immediately terrified. She had known it was a bad idea to place the little boy in Tom's room, but he had insisted and there really was nowhere else they could have placed him. She rushed up the stairs, barely hearing Tom muttering behind her. If Tom was saying the boy was acting strangely, something must be terribly wrong.

So it was with surprise that Mrs. Cole found herself standing in a completely intact room, without blood, tears, or anything else to condemn the older to a week of bathroom cleaning duty. She frowned though when she couldn't see the little boy either. It wasn't until Tom shouldered elegantly passed her and back to his bed where he sat primly on the edge and spoke to the wall.

"Mrs. Cole is here to disperse you of your idiotic notion of these ridiculous rules. But you are going to have to leave the corner and stand properly to speak with her."

That was when the little boy seemed to slowly, reluctantly drag himself from the corner, his feet seeming to drag further behind his body than physically possible. He seemed worried about being in trouble with the matron, though for what Mrs. Cole couldn't decide.

"Can I help with something?"

The little boy shifted, "Ummm…" He scuffed a shoe against the floor.

Mrs. Cole waited as long as her tattered patience would allow but nothing else seemed to be forthcoming. Perhaps he needed a little more guidance. She heaved a deep sigh.

"Perhaps we could start with your name."

Tom seemed to frown at that but otherwise said nothing, keeping his eyes on the smaller boy.

"It's Harry… Just Harry."

She raised an eyebrow but decided that could be dealt with later, "And how old are you?"

Harry gave a timid smile, "I'll be eleven soon. At the end of July."

She found herself incapable of hiding her own smile in return, "Quite soon then. Barely a month until then. And how did you get here?"

He shrugged and his eyes fell back to the floor.

"Where do you live?"

He scraped his toe again but otherwise gave a noncommittal shrug once again, "With my aunt and uncle, I guess."

"And where are they?"

"Dunno, last I remember was Uncle throwing me out. He told me not to come back."

Her lips tightened at the way the boy seemed to think that was normal, acceptable even. Unfortunately the boy seemed to notice her anger and flinched back towards the wall. This was when Tom seemed to deem his assistance necessary.

"Ask her about the rules, Harry."

She turned to reprimand him. The boy would talk when he was ready and pushing him to do anything else would be less than helpful, but then the boy seemed to nod.

"I'm afraid I may have broken some rules already…"

Mrs. Cole forced her expression back to neutral but couldn't hide her curiousity, "What rules did you break?"

Harry flinched, but then seemed to dutifully recite the rules he'd been breaking. Apparently, rules designed to convince him of his worthlessness. And made impossible for him not to break.

"I disturbed your peace and quiet. I made a nuisance of myself. I invaded Tom's space. I was sleeping on the furniture. And I made a mess with my shoes."

Mrs. Cole followed his glance to wear his shoes lay. She had taken them off of him before laying him down. She hadn't even notice the little pile of dirt around the soles.

"…Those are not the rules we have here. You have not done anything wrong, except perhaps not coming to see me the instant you were awake, however I can make an exception as you were likely unaware both of this expectation and of my whereabouts."

Harry frowned, "What are the rules?" Suddenly he flinched, "Sorry!"

Mrs. Cole suspected this case was going to severely try her patience. "What for this time?"

"I is not supposed to be asking questions."

"You should say I 'am' not supposed to be asking questions. Grammar aside, I would like it very much if you would as questions. Do not be a nuisance, as myself and the staff have quite a lot to do around here, but feel free to ask any of us or the children here anything you like."

Harry nodded, but didn't repeat his question. She gave in with a whisper of a breath.

"The rules here are simple. Do not act recklessly. Which is to say, no climbing on walls, jumping down the stairs, or hanging out windows. Report to myself or another staff member should you be injured. Meals are to be taken three times a day with the others. Lights are out by 9 for everyone under the age of 12. And you will clean up after yourself."

Harry nodded, "I won't be reckless. I'll eat with everyone. I'll clean up. And I'll be in bed."

"And if you get hurt?"

The little boy bit his lip, "I don't get hurt. It always gets better before anyone can see."

She gave a little smile, "Well if it doesn't get better right away, come speak with me, alright?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

She nodded and turned to leave but the timid voice called out after her, "Excuse me?"

She turned her head to look at Harry, though he deliberately avoided eye contact, "Does this mean I can stay?"

"For now."

And she left.

(0,0)

Mrs. Cole and the rest were very concerned about the new boy. He was beyond small and despite the fact he had insisted emphatically that he knew he was turning eleven, they didn't quite believe it. He could pass as seven perhaps but ten?

They were even more worried when he seemed to develop and obsession with his new roommate. Everyone was skeptical, anxious really, about the arrangement. They were counting the days until the little boy got hurt. Tom didn't like the small children. Even more he disliked weak children and knowing what Harry had gone through (he didn't talk about it but the flinching and avoidance of furniture spoke loud and clear) they didn't see how Tom could see him as anything but weak. In fact, the matron had been trying to rush her connections to get their oldest (a 17-year-old girl named Missy) out of the house and into a new position now instead of when she turned eighteen.

But the day Tom attacked the little one never came. In fact, the older boy seemed to flourish with the attention. He was still bitter towards everyone and everything, but Harry. The boy didn't take notice of the way Tom would nearly manage to smile instead of smirk when Harry didn't ask if he could leave his room. The way the taller boy would shorten his strides when Harry's quiet steps were heard coming down the hall.

As the weeks passed and nothing happened the staff began to relax. Oh they still insisted the boy had an extra helping of dinner, Lillian (one of the women who helped Mrs. Cole) always brought him a candy during her shift, they made sure that he was asking for things and refused to deny him anything he remembered to ask for (which so far had been a toothbrush), but they stopped hovering every moment.

Perhaps they still would have watched carefully, but Penelope, their youngest charge, had managed to get pneumonia of all things and they had their hands full with the sick four-year-old. So the moment Harry found a moment of peace and managed to slip away, he accepted it gratefully. He wasn't used to all of this attention and there was a niggling in the back of his mind. He felt like he was forgetting something.

He thought for sure that if he could just get a few minutes by himself and out of the way it would come back to him. But it turned out to be a lot harder to lose Tom than he thought it would be. He was very much confused, the boy seemed to run ahead of him all the time and waited for him only with obvious impatience, and yet he couldn't seem to shake the older boy today.

Every time he thought he was on his own, Tom would suddenly appear. First it was in their room, he'd been in the door for all of five minutes when it suddenly opened again and Tom was inside carrying a book. Harry hadn't really known why the boy was in there or why he had decided to be there now, but when he settled in to read Harry had only frowned slightly before making his way out.

He was proud of himself for only hesitating slightly at the door.

Then Tom appeared in the kitchen where Harry was helping to cook. Then under the rundown tires which served as a climbing post for the kids. Then in the hallway. Tom even found him when he tried hiding in the supply closet, his story was that he was getting a mop. Yeah. Right…

So when he managed to make it to the alley behind the home without being spotted he nearly let out a whoop of joy. But there was no doubt in his mind that the noise would draw his unwelcome shadow's attention. So instead he settled down on an old broken crate, right next to the dumpster were Penelope's last diaper had been thrown, and he let himself think.

It wasn't until a single hand wrap around his throat and the air was forced from his lungs as a large body shoved him against the wall that Harry regretted his decision to try and find some space to think.

(0,0)

Tom had been frantically looking for Harry. More so than he would ever admit. He was sure that even Penelope could tell that he… tolerated the other boy by now. He frowned at his behavior and turned his thoughts inward. Perhaps he could deduce where the child would go.

Although he wasn't sure how that would go. The boy was different and confusing from the moment he passed out on the front lawn and looked up at Tom with a smile. And even when Tom had been mean to him (on his first night no less) the boy had continued to smile at Tom at least once a day.

He had reluctantly grown to like the little boy who had become his shadow. He'd been waiting for the boy to run away scared the instant the matron offered to free another room but he'd just frowned and asked if he had to move.

Tom had been more stunned than the matrons. They all assumed that perhaps the boy liked the quiet or that the young one had been able to reach out to Tom some way no one else had. Tom knew though that he had been as cold and as distant as ever.

The threadbare blanket that had graced Harry's bed upon his awakening had been Tom's. It had been Tom's for five years now. When he saw the practically new blanket that had graced the new boy's bed he hadn't hesitated before swapping them. The new boy would probably only be there for a day or two anyway.

That night though, listening to the boy shivering despite the rather warm spring weather, he'd changed his mind.

He couldn't sleep with all of the boy's racket. That was the story he told himself as he laid the nicer blanket over the small boy. And he would have stuck to it. Until he awoke the next morning with the same blanket draped over his body. Harry was tucked in a shaking ball under the thin ratty thing which had belonged to Tom.

That was the first time Tom noticed the unnatural passiveness of this little boy. He seemed so much more mature than the rest of the kids at the orphanage.

The way he endured silently, ignored the other kids teasing his clothes and glasses (which was a tad ridiculous seeing as none of them had decent clothes anyway), and waited with patience. The little one was always offering to help and seemed disappointed when someone sent him away without a mission to complete. It all annoyed the older boy, who quite frankly did not understand any of it.

However he was drawn to the little boy who seemed determined to follow him, but not to listen, just to be there. So when the little one started acting strangely, Tom wanted to know why. But the boy kept moving and hiding! He had searched the entire building and the entire yard, but nothing. Which made some sense if the boy was hiding then he wouldn't exactly want to be found and Tom had found him in all of the usual places.

Tom shook his head slowly as he made his way into the yard and turned to go around the building.

He would hide away from everything, and with how bad the little ones had been sick, no one wanted to be near the dumpster in the alley. Seeing as Tom had pushed him out of everywhere else there wasn't exactly a plethora of places to choose from. He rounded the corner and started in, only to come face to face with reality.

The good part was that Harry was in fact in the alley. The bad news was that he was nearing unconsciousness as the three bigger boys were slaming ming his head against the wall repeatedly. He watched as the dull green eyes slowly looked around for inspiration, lighting on the shirt Tom was wearing.

"Help, Tom, please."

The eyes shut and Tom flung out his hand without thinking. The boys stumbled away from Harry and found themselves tossed against the ground. He only spared them a glance. Their hearts when they found themselves suddenly frozen stiff.

He wasted no further time with them, reaching for the younger boy. He barely seemed five when Tom lifted him into his arms and hurried back inside. His usually strong voice trembling as he called out for Mrs. Cole.

The matron rushed out at the new voice and stumbled only once at the sight of Tom. He never noticed. His eyes were locked on the little body he had laid on one of their small, worn couches. She focused in.

"What happened?"

"It was Francis, Fred, and Fillipe. They had cornered him in the alley. I don't know what they were doing, is he going to be okay?"

She turned stern eyes on him, "You need to keep the other children out of here. Don't tell them what happened, and don't get them interested. They need to stay out. Get Missy in here, right quick."

The boy seemed determined to stay but then shook his head. He flew into motion and it was only minutes later that the door clicked once again and Missy was stepping into the room with hot towels and a basin of water.

"How did you know?"

"Tom said you would need them. What happened? Was it Tom?"

The matron shook her head, "No. But by the bruises I think we can safely say Tom may have just saved this boy's life."

(0,0)

When the door opened, Tom was standing right there in the hallway.

The matron cursed and her hand flew to her heart even as her weary mind struggled to keep her upright.

"Well? Will he be alright?"

She heaved a sigh, "Most likely. Missy will stay with him tonight, you will return to your room. I am afraid I must relieve Miss Lillian. Janet will be needing her meds soon."

Tom's forehead furrowed as he looked into Mrs. Cole's eyes. Just as in the past she got the niggling feeling that she was being read in ways she couldn't possibly understand. Then suddenly, Tom nodded once. Not quite sure what happened, she turned to the stairs and barely contained a curse at their now endless quality.

"I can help Miss Lillian. Perhaps Janet would like to hear a story."

Mrs. Cole tripped on the first step, "What?"

"You are not feeling well, so you should sleep. I can help Miss Lillian."

"Why?"

Tom's head tilted and he suddenly looked so much more like the eleven-year-old boy he was.

"Am I not supposed to help? I thought you wanted everyone, too."

She pinched the corner of her mouth between her teeth as she spoke, "Well, yes. But you are typically more inclined to clean rather than assist with the children."

Tom shrugged, "I never got the chance."

The matron could hear the _'before Harry'_ ringing between them and silently wondered if that was what she had been missing all along. Perhaps if Tom had just been with the other children more… But she shook her head. There were other times to think on this.

"Very well. You go and select some stories. I will speak to Miss Lillian."

As soon as the boy was gone, Mrs. Cole forced herself up the stairs at an unprecedented rate. She had somewhat disturbing, yet hopeful news to report after all.

(0,0)

Something strange happened in the orphanage after that day. The older boys had been keeping a wide berth in regards to both Harry and Tom. They seemed to actually tread carefully around all of the children. To everyone's surprise, it became obvious that it was Harry they were actually avoiding. Although Tom, who had been forthcoming to everyone's chagrin, honestly seemed as confused as anyone else. Harry merely shrugged, and the boys were silent on the topic.

They seemed to think Harry was more evil than Tom ever had been though. Which concerned the help but mostly they were just ecstatic the first time they saw Tom smile at something Harry did. And the way Harry seemed to look up to Tom and was willing to sit on the furniture to make Tom happy. They would be willing to put up with a lot if it kept these wonderful changes.

Tom was as flabbergasted as the help when it came to Harry. He heard the boys whispering about the freak snake-whisperer but had no idea what they had been hearing. Harry had obviously been speaking quite plainly. He attributed it to their shock when they'd found themselves sitting on the ground.

Of course, it was only a few days later when he discovered the truth. Harry came running into their room with an obviously guilty expression and a hand placed over the pocket of his coat. Tom closed his book with a sigh and turned all of his attention on the boy.

"What did you do?"

Harry shook his head and avoided Tom's eyes. His hand tucked away in the torn pocket of his threadbare jacket.

"Harry?"

The little boy chewed on his lip before seeming to fold in on himself. His little hand slowly withdrawing from his pocket as he spoke.

"I… It's just…She said she was cold."

Tom was completely thrown off guard by that. Who said they were cold and why exactly had…

That was when Tom saw the small snake sitting in the palm of Harry's hand, "The snake said she was cold?"

Tom worked hard to keep the skepticism out of his voice and felt proud when Harry grinned at him and nodded.

"Yes! Tell him Saryong."

The older boy felt his brow furrow when Harry spoke the last bit. It was like he had taken on an accent of some kind, but Tom felt no need to comment until the most amazing thing happened.

"I can't, young Master. You is being the first human to understand me. I doubt this one will."

Harry's own brow wrinkled as he thought about that, "Oh. You must be so lonely. Are you sure you can't try?"

Tom blinked at the snaked, "No one else can understand you?"

The snake's head whipped around and Harry let out a giggle of joy. Tom on the other hand felt like his entire world was shifting as he held out his hand and the little snake gladly crept into his warm skin and began a dissertation about what a strange day it had been.

 **Hey, hey, hey! Sorry I'm so late but it's NaNoWriMo again and that's been killer! But here this is, and remember 10 reviews means an update within 24 hours. I got 9 on the last chapter so finger's crossed. Take care and thanks for reading, Dumbledore will be visiting in the next chapter where he'll get a very special surprise!**


	3. Chapter 2

Harry adored his new friend Saryong, he carried her in his pocket wherever he went and was constantly sneaking her out to hunt the bugs she liked. He and Tom would spend hours in their room talking, the little snake was fascinated by the silly human customs and loved it when Tom or Harry told her fairytales. Between their hours in their room and their time spent on chores, they spent more time together than apart. And their friendship grew.

It was just over a week until Harry's birthday (hard to believe he had only been in their care for two weeks) when he finally seemed to settle into his skin. He took to dragging Tom around, down the streets, to the park, and even just into their front yard. He seemed to revel in the hot weather that made all of the other's hide in their rooms and Tom would protest only until he saw Harry's smile. Tom would then find the shadiest spot he could and wait for Harry to finish soaking in the rays.

Mrs. Cole and Lillian watched the two boys with hopeful smiles. They could see the power behind their friendship and watched as Harry seemed to smooth out Tom's rough edges and Tom gave Harry a little bit of fire. They watched as the little one seemed to blossom and prayed that no one would come calling for the little boy. Either of them. They couldn't imagine one without the other now and didn't want to know how the boys would take it.

And that was when the other shoe dropped.

A set of young parents were visiting, they wanted a little boy. They didn't want a baby, they wanted a child old enough to understand and to remember. The little, happy, excited boy who came rushing down the stairs, slightly bigger boy dragged along behind him with a half-smile.

The young couple had made their choice instantly. They went and talked to the green-eyed boy and, seeing as they had already done a home inspection, they filled out the paperwork and Harry was sent off to his new home.

What happened that day was something no one in the orphanage would ever want to speak of again. Tom was a horror like he had never been before. Harry's presence had people actually talking with Tom, mostly the older kids but now he just stayed in his room. And caused havoc.

Children walking by the door would yelp and run down the stairs claiming Tom had opened the door and pinched them. Others would find themselves outside with no memory of how they got there, only remembering trying to talk to Tom. Lillian shared a story of Tom hurling his things across the room and watching them shatter, then rebuilding them to do it again.

The biggest surprise though was experienced by Mrs. Cole. Tom had been absent for three meals and she was bringing him some food. She heard some muffled noises behind the door and had opened it just enough to peak in. Tom was sitting on his bed. His knees tucked against his chest and trapped in place by his arms. His head resting against the wall behind him as he stared out the window. But what choked Mrs. Cole was the ratty blanket around his shoulders and the tear tracks staining his cheeks.

She had never in her life wished that a child hadn't gone to such a happy, loving couple.

Mrs. Cole shut the door quietly and knocked. When she spoke it was only to tell him there was a snack waiting for him. Then she hurried from the landing before she had to face his tears or his attempt at cleaning up.

Besides that- well the dishes seemed to be permanently dirty, the windows were all smudged, there were snakes all over outside confining them all indoors even more than usual in the hot weather. None of which could really be blamed on Tom but Mrs. Cole did blame it on the melancholy that Harry seemed to have left in his wake.

Thankfully, it all came to an end three days after the interview when a swollen-eyed, blotchy-faced, and smiling Harry ran through the front door and up the stairs towards the room in which Tom had barricaded himself.

The couple were absolutely flabbergasted, and obviously at their wit's end. The young wife was shaking her head and her husband was holding her as she leaned against them.

"I don't know what else we could have done. He was perfectly fine until the sun went down that first night. As soon as the sun went down, Harry was asking to come back. We tried explaining, but once he realized that he wasn't coming back, well… At first it wasn't so bad, he was quiet and went to be willingly enough."

Mrs. Cole nodded, she knew exactly what they meant, kids often acted that way when their parents were killed or they were dropped off. Like their world had just been knocked off its axis and they were struggling to make sense of everything, "Then what happened?"

Her husband took over, "When he woke up in the morning he had all of his things back in his bag. He said he was ready. We explained again, or tried to, but he just started to cry. Then he asked if he could visit and well we wanted desperately to stop his crying so we agreed. But then when we told him it couldn't be for long, because of how far it is."

"He started asking what would happen to Tom, if he could come stay with us, too." The wife took over again, "And then he's been crying ever since we told him we couldn't take Tom in, we wouldn't be able to take care of them both, you see."

"I understand, I take it Harry didn't?"

"Not well," they both shook their heads, "Then when he told him he wouldn't be able to visit at all until he stopped fussing…"

"It just got worse. Obviously we can't punish him for feeling sad. So this morning he woke up all morose and he had stopped sobbing but he just sat there and tears ran down his face. Theo here went up the stairs, grabbed his stuff and said we were coming back today."

Theo gave a soft snort, "That was the first smile we saw from him since we left here."

"He even gave us a hug, what else could we do?"

Mrs. Cole just shook her head, "With those two? I don't think there's much anyone could have done."

The couple gave her a thankful, apologetic shake, but Mrs. Cole merely waved them off. She hadn't sent the papers through yet, so they would be shredded, the couple were given a name of an orphanage closer to them, and it was like nothing had ever happened.

From then on- Mrs. Cole informed all of their families that the charming, care-free boy was to be adopted with the quiet, intimidating, and intelligent older boy. Which dropped the offers quite dramatically, but made Harry smile every time he heard Mrs. Cole deny an adoption for him for that reason. Which was all the reason she really needed.

After all, they all had grown quite fond of the Little Riddle. Mrs. Cole smirked to herself as she remembered the day that nickname had come to be. Lillian had come to her with a bright, cheery smile and a laugh as she recounted her tale:

It was a few days after the snake had been found and Harry had finished his miraculous recovery that Lillian came into their room.

Harry was seated on his bed and Lillian was just grabbing some new sheets to trade out when a quiet, polite voice spoke up.

"Do you, per chance, have the time, Miss Lillian?"

Lillian had stood up in shock, glancing around for Tom, only to see Harry staring at her expectantly. She blinked slowly before glancing out the window to the main clock in the courtyard. She must have recited the time back for Harry nodded once before turning back to his book.

The young woman was flabbergasted. She had assumed that it was Tom who had spoken. He always had been quite proper while speaking. Harry had then proceeded to lick his middle finger before turning the page, just as Tom always did. Of course he then proceeded to use his other finger to actually turn the page.

It just continued as Lillian put the clean sheets on top of the bare mattresses and loaded the dirty ones into her laundry bag for the kids to take out to clean tomorrow morning. Harry asked quite politely if he could be of assistance and then (following her amused denial) had proceeded to inform her of the most interesting plot of his book. Which, contrarily to Tom's usual newspapers or biographies, was a collection of fairytales.

She had run into Mrs. Cole on the stairs and had spilled the entire story with laughter bringing tears to her eyes. Mrs. Cole had shook her head at all three of them and had declared that if Harry wanted to be little Riddle than he should be able to.

If no one claimed Harry before summer's end they would take him to the government and get him set with his new name. If only because even Tom's eyes seemed brighter when Harry got called little Riddle.

She couldn't help but shake her head as the two boys ran by her, "C'mon Tom, Maybe Mr. Larry will give us ice cream if we clean his windows again!"

Tom merely smiled and Mrs. Cole decided to take the kids out for ice cream in the next week or so.

(0,0)

After that, nothing changed. Well nothing more. Tom actually started staying in the common room even once Harry's sudden end to his seemingly boundless energy sent him to bed. For once it seemed he was no longer afraid that the kids would reject him.

Or perhaps it was that he knew that Harry would never reject him, no matter what he did.

Not that living with Tom was easy. The boy still did things that no one could really explain. Or perhaps it was that people blamed him for things that he couldn't have done. Not logically.

Freddy swore that Tom sent a snake after him. Filipe was convinced that Tom was the reason his train was found broken in the attic, never mind the fact that Filipe was the last one seen with it and Tom had been in the common room.

Another of the fourteen-year-old boys, Francis, swore that Tom made all of his food taste like ash. Of course, it tasted fine to everyone and anyone else. So that was just brushed off, but Tom's smug smirk was fairly incriminating.

No one could figure out how he did it though.

Of course- all of that was rational, logical, understandable, and explainable in comparison to what happened after Francis complained about his food.

Everything went back to normal. Freddy found a new train in his room, Filipe no longer saw the snake following him around, and Francis was able to eat again. Beyond that Tom had… well not exactly apologized, because that would mean admitting a compliance to the events. But the meaning had been received regardless of the particulars.

Still no one doubted that it had been Harry's influence that had led to this acquiescence to the cultural formalities, as Tom had stated it. The blinding smile and big hug between the two boys had been enough to prove that.

(0,0)

Tom was alone in his room when Mrs. Cole came up and knocked on the door, he could tell she was a little tipsy and couldn't contain his sneer. She knew that drinking upset some of the children, so she limited it to certain occasions, but Tom could not abide by the filthy habit.

"Tom, there is a Mister Dumblydore here to speak with you. He wishes you to attend a school program of his."

The boy was given no chance to respond before a man in an unbelievably plum suit stepped into the room, tipping his purple striped hat at Mrs. Cole as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

The man sat down on Harry's bed and faced Tom fully, "Hello, Mr. Riddle. My name is Professor Dumbledore and I am a professor at a special school and I have come to talk to you about-."

Tom immediately shook his head, "Oh yes, a special school. I had thought that Mrs. Cole had given up on this idea but I see I was clearly mistaken. I am not in need of a school like yours so I request that you leave immediately."

The man shook his head and chuckled, "I am afraid you misunderstand me. I am a professor for a school which is uniquely suited to your skills. Those talents Mrs. Cole mentioned which may have caused some difficulties in the past. You are not alone in these skills."

Tom blinked, "Wait. You mean like moving things without touching them? You can do that to?"

The man nodded, "Quite. The school I teach at is called Hogwarts. It is a boarding school for young witches and wizards where you will be completely welcome from September 1st until the end of the school year. I have here a letter regarding your admission and the supplies you shall need."

The boy looked at the letter, the man, the letter, the door, down to the letter, before finally settling on the man with a sigh, "What if I decide not to attend?"

A white beard was tugged on as a response, "Well I suppose you do not have to, but I believe you will find it to be most beneficial. Your tuition will be covered by scholarship if that is your concern?"

Tom shook his head, "How do I know this is real? How do I know it's not a trick? Are you really like me?"

Dumbledore smiled, but before he could draw his wand the door to the room burst open and he quickly released the wood and stood from the bed.

"Tom! Tom! Saryong said that she can teach us to write! She said her bearer was special and taught her and that she can teach us and-." Suddenly the little boy's rant was cut off as he noticed the other man in the room, "Oh… I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know there was anyone else here."

The man raised an eyebrow, "It's quite alright. Although this would be why one traditionally knocks on closed doors."

The green-eyed child curled in on himself and Tom glared at the older man, "This is Harry's room, too. He shouldn't have to knock to come in. And he doesn't."

Dumbledore seemed to sense that this was a dangerous topic and quickly made to guide the conversation out of troubled waters, "Be that as it may, your young friend here is not allowed to attend our conversation and as it is best we finish in private, I would ask that your friend leave for the time being."

Tom shook his head and pulled Harry over to his bed, despite the boy's insistence that he could leave, "That won't be necessary," The older boy seemed to speak to both of the others, "I'm afraid I shall have to decline your invitation, though I thank you for this opportunity."

"My boy, I don't see why you would refuse…"

"I… I just can't leave. Especially not for ten months!"

Dumbledore caught the way brown eyes flicked to the smaller boy and how the younger tensed under the implication of Tom's departure.

"You could return for breaks, of course. And communication is encouraged to family and friends, though it may be difficult. I am sure there are others who can care for any other responsibilities you may have."

Tom went to speak again but Harry was confused and scared and he wanted an explanation now.

"Excuse me, sir. But why would Tom be leaving?"

The man smiled and the twinkle in his eyes returned full bore, this boy would help Tom see sense.

"I have just extended and invitation to Tom. We have a position at our boarding school which would help him grow and learn with others with similar aptitudes."

Harry glanced at Tom, "Similar skills. Basically, if I go away to this school they'll help me to control myself."

The green eyes squinted under a furrowed brow, "Then why wouldn't you go?"

"Because I'll have to leave the orphanage for most of the year."

"Well why couldn't we talk to Mrs. Cole about it? I'm sure she wouldn't mind…"

Tom shook his head, "No, Harry. I… I don't think you can go with me. The professor only brought an invitation for me."

"But why couldn't I go?"

"This school is specialized, you see. Only individuals with certain talents are admitted or they wouldn't be able to complete their studies."

Tom rolled his eyes, "It's a school for wizards, about learning magic."

"You mean like the things that no one else can do?"

The boy nodded and Harry seemed to collapse into himself, "Oh."

"But I'm not going, so it's okay. What did Saryong have to say?"

Harry shrugged and pulled the little snake out of his pocket. Before letting her curl around his wrist and slither part way up his arm.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Seeing as young Harry here knows about your skills, which I must encourage you not to share them with anyone else, perhaps I can give that demonstration which you had requested?"

A shrug, "If you must." But the boys' attention was focused on the little snake.

The professor frowned, if he was going to convince Tom to go this was going to have to be very impressive. He flicked his wand out of his pocket and towards the wardrobe in one smooth motion. Instantaneously the boy's eyes flicked to the flames surrounding their clothes and Harry screamed.

A huge wind whipped through the room and Dumbledore blinked as his flames were extinguished. Nothing was harmed and all that remained of the fire was the smell of smoke which was even now drifting out the window.

The little boy spun towards the older man, his eyes alight with anger as he gripped Tom's hand.

"That was mean! There is 'portant stuff in there and you… you…"

Dumbledore though, could only focus on one thing, "Was that you, Harry? The wind?"

Harry shook his head, still obviously mad, "I wanted the fire out, but I didn't do anything. You scared Tom though."

"I'm not scared, Harry."

Suddenly another thought occurred to Dumbledore, "Who is Saryong?"

Still angry, though mostly thrown by these non-sequiturs, Harry shrugged, "She's our snake."

Dumbledore shook his head to free the questions that seemed to be fighting for his attention. Well if that is the case I do believe I can safely offer both of you a full-scholarship to attend Hogwarts. Whenever you're old enough."

Both boys frowned, "I'm going to be eleven like Tom soon."

The larger boy grinned, "Tomorrow, Harry."

Harry looked like his world had just grown brighter at that news, though not nearly as excited as most young children were.

"Very well then. You'll have to look off of Mr. Riddle's letter for your supplies, but I do believe that you will be most suited to our school, Mister…"

The little boy grinned, "Riddle, Harry Riddle."

"Are you brothers?"

Tom shook his head, "Not technically. Harry's just… Harry."

The white brows creased behind the half-moon glasses, "I see…"

Harry and Tom shared a smirk. It was quite obvious that this crazy man saw nothing. Still the man handed Tom the letter and a sack of money that Harry and Tom stared at incredulously. He offered to come back to escort them into Diagon Alley but neither of the boys foresaw that being a problem. They wandered the streets here all of the time and had even gone by the Leaky Cauldron before. It did explain the fact no one ever seemed to go in the place and yet it was always busy.

Dumbledore gave them directions about which stones to tap; Harry got confused, but Tom nodded his understanding so Harry figured it would be fine. After that he told them which stores to go to and mentioned something about an account for Harry. They had to go to the wizarding bank and they could get him set up.

When Dumbledore went to leave the room Harry waited patiently until he had cleared the stairs before rushing down. He found a slightly more sober Mrs. Cole and Jillian who seemed to be fretting about something. When they caught sight of him they immediately forced smiles which threatened to break in moments.

Dumbledore paused to watch the scene and was flabbergasted to see the way they actually encouraged Harry to tell them everything. It was quite obvious this child was spoiled rotten here. He tuned in to listen to the end of Harry's story.

"-and apparently he decided I'm smart like Tom, so I get to go too!"

Mrs. Cole's smile became real and she eagerly swept the boy into her arms. Jillian gave a cry of joy before rushing over and pressing a kiss to Dumbledore's wizened cheek.

"Thank you. We don't know what would have happened if Tom had left Harry behind. Or worse if Tom had given up this opportunity."

She immediately turned back to the party and invited Tom in with the promise of some new clothes to start their adventure. Dumbledore frowned and carefully turned, his thoughts tumbling over everything he had seen and heard.

Mrs. Cole had obviously been worried about Riddle, and he was obviously dangerous, Dumbledore had noticed some dark memories in Mrs. Cole's mind and in the boys. However, he had seemed quite polite and worried online about his little charge. But Harry was quite powerful, and obviously was used to getting coddled and spoiled. He would have to keep an eye on them.

Dumbledore sensed something amiss with these Riddles.

(0,0)

Harry wanted to go to Diagon Alley the next day, but Tom was strangely insistent that they wait. Apparently, he thought they should go on Monday instead. It would probably be less crowded. Harry wasn't sure but figured Tom had probably gone shopping more than he had so he let it go. It would be kind of sad to spend his birthday at the Orphanage instead of going to explore some magical alley.

Still though he was quite happy to stay up with Tom until the clock across the street struck midnight. For the first time Harry could remember, someone else wished him a happy birthday. Tom handed him a small package and Harry handled it with the greatest of care. Opening the small box he found a little home for his snake made out of a wooden crate. Tom wanted him to have some place where she could be safe. It had a bed, a little cave made out of stones to hide in and a little pond for her to get a drink.

Harry was quick to show Saryong her new home and the little snake took to it like a fish to water. She slithered here and there and accepted Harry's idea to push her to the other end of the room. They agreed to carve a little hole the next day so that she could come and go as she pleased.

The clock was nearly tolling one when the two boys slid under their blankets. Harry fell asleep with a smile, curled up with his own blanket in his own bed, in his own room (even if he had to share it, it was still a room) and fell asleep with the thought that this was already the best birthday ever.

Which might explain why the sudden shout of well-wishes sent the now eleven-year-old tumbling out of his small bed and onto the hard floor. Sure he'd heard the tradition with three of the other children but… was Harry really going to be the special kid today?

Mrs. Cole grinned at him while Tom helped him up with an eyeroll and led him to the door where he was ushered down to breakfast with a chorus of the traditional song. Tom, of course, refused to sing but he did pull out the head chair and settle Harry in. Little Penelope was the one to place the birthday crown on his head.

As Harry watched some of the children pull out little crafts they had made and Mrs. Cole handed him a brand new pair of pants and a shirt, Harry couldn't help but think for the hundredth time that this was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

And when Tom told him the day was just going to get better and they would make this his best birthday ever, Harry just hugged the older boy.

"It already is."

Mrs. Cole, Jillian, Missy, and many others dabbed at their eyes at the truly earnest statement and swore that this little boy would forget his horrid family and grow up as loved as all of them had wished to be.

(0,0)

When Tom had stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, Harry was firmly attached to his shadow. He wanted to see everything but could sense Harry's nerves as all of the eyes turned to the two children in hand-me-down clothes. The taller boy shook off their stares and tried to distract Harry.

"Don't you want to see if they really have owls?"

One of the women stepped forward and whispered, quite loudly if Harry was honest, "There are also toads and snakes, not to mention flying brooms and books that can talk to you. There's even an ice cream parlor that has every flavor of ice cream you can ever imagine."

Harry blinked at the woman, "I like ice cream."

She winked, "Me too. Now if we hurry we can get some before my bothersome niece catches me. She thinks ice cream is bad for you."

She shook her head in mock shame and Harry giggled. Tom gave her an unimpressed look.

"Ice cream is not exactly healthy."

The woman grinned at both of them, "Ah! But you see ice cream is perfectly good for a child. And I believe that the key to a young life is keeping my inner child happy."

Tom raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Well," She leaned in and glanced over her shoulder as if worried she was being spied on, "I haven't died yet, now have I?"

Tom just raised the other eyebrow. The side of his mouth barely twitching in counterpoint to Harry's far too loud guffaws. But the other patrons just smile knowingly and let the woman take the children through the wall.

"We were supposed to talk to the Tom who works here. Dumbledore said he'd give us directions to the bank."

The witch drew her wand and tapped it smartly on the bricks. Harry and Tom both watched, rapt as the bricks began to quiver and shake before somehow folding in on themselves.

The woman shook her head, "Forget directions, I'll take you there myself. Not that you could miss it."

It was just then that the doorway seemed to appear. Tom and Harry both stood flabbergasted at the crowds, laughter, and life that seemed hidden just beyond the wall. The energy sweeping across the stone roads leaving both of them reeling.

"Well come on."

Harry and Tom hurried after the woman, who was kind enough to walk slowly through the street as the two Riddles took in the magic. From the cauldrons, to the books, to the fairies in this window and a goblin walking out this door the two boys couldn't decide what to look at. They kept calling out to the other to point out something new and the woman just watched on in amusement.

They made it into the bank where the witch guided them up to an empty teller. The creatures manning the desks looked terribly busy, "Who are they?"

"These are goblins. Best people in the world to protect your money. No one breaks into Gringott's."

Harry felt an unexplainable swoop of amusement and irony. Passing as swiftly as it came Harry brushed off both Tom's and the woman's questioning gaze.

"Ah, Miss Bagshot. Had we forgotten something in our earlier interactions?"

"Not at all Mister Griphook. I am merely escorting these young gentlemen to your assistance."

The goblin nodded before turning its nose down and taking in the two children, "And how might I assist the young sirs?"

Tom gave Harry a pointed look and the boy swallowed, "Sorry for the bother, sir. But we- I was hoping you might be able to help me. You see a Professor Dumbledore said that he would arrange a scholarship for me. He didn't know I was coming to Hogwarts, see, so he didn't have coins to give me like he gave Tom."

Griphook nodded, "Quite understandable. What was your name young sir?"

Here the boy beamed, "Harry Riddle!"

The woman chuckled and the goblins around them even looked somewhat amused, "Very well then, Mister Riddle. I shall see what I can find."

Harry expected him to go look for something, maybe in his office or with one of the others, but instead he just opened his drawer.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Riddle. I see you have received the standard issue for a scholarship. It will cover just what is on your list. No more, no less. Likely as not you will not be able to bring a familiar with you due to this limitation."

The little boy blinked and then looked at Tom who simplified with a grin, "We won't be able to afford care for an owl once we get our school things."

"Oh," Harry nodded, "That's alright. Thank you for your help, Mister Griphook."

The goblin gave an open grin back and bowed his head, "May your gold flow and your enemies kneel before you, Mister Riddle. I do believe you are going to make quite a change to our dark, dull world."

The boy nodded, decidedly uncertain as he accepted the money the goblin handed towards him.

"Um… yes, may your gold flow as well, and may your enemies kneel before you."

(0,0)

After they left the bank Harry and Tom wanted to see everything. The witch managed to steer them to where they needed to go and get only what they needed. It took hours but eventually the boys were burdened with their full trunks and the witch grinned at them.

"This is my favorite stop. You'll see there's only one thing left on your list there."

Tom smirked and Harry grinned, this was what they had been waiting for, "Our wands!"

"Quite so. There's only one person to trust with a wand in England. And he stands right through those doors."

They looked up at the old, worn green building and struggled to make out the faded writing: _Ollivanders. Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC._

The two boys followed the woman with a bounce in their step. The only falter coming when the door opened into a dank, dusty room filled with rows and rows of shelves. The boys stepped closer to each other (a feat none of them had thought possible) as the bell above the door gave a tired jingle and let a bit of dust fall in its wake.

This place was far more depressing than he imagined it would be. Especially after the rest of the Alley. More depressing was the sales man who came walking through the shelves. Or at least Harry assumed he walked. His sudden appearance behind the counter had both Harry and Tom jumping feet into the air.

"Ah… welcome, welcome. A surprise to see you, miss. How can I help you?"

"Ollivander. These are the Riddle boys. They're starting Hogwarts this year."

The young man seemed to glow, "Wonderful! How wonderful. My father just stepped out to lunch, you'll both be my first wands I've sold. Father likes to keep the sales to himself. Now let us see, let us see…" He whistled sharply and Harry and Tom winced, "Apologies."

He waited, impatiently tapping his foot when a floating tape measure appeared. He tapped it once with his wand and it flew off to Tom.

"Yes, yes, we'll start with the oldest, now let's see."

The measuring tape flicked around Tom, measuring his hand, his arm, his wrist, his waist, his ankle, and eventually his forehead before moving around to other body parts. The young man started picking through the shelves haphazardly and began piling boxes on the desk. Eventually he looked up at the measuring tape (which was measuring Tom's nostril?) and waved a hand. It immediately fell to the floor.

"Very well, try this…"

(Harry will be completely honest about this. Tom tried out three wands that Harry noticed. The first two were pulled from his hand before he could breathe and the third one turned the floor to liquid. After that Harry was mostly focused on standing near the door just in case and waiting impatiently for his own turn, but he did pay most close attention when the young Ollivander began to speak again.)

"A challenging case. My father will be quite upset he missed this. Or simply disappointed. I've probably over-looked something obvious. Something that is looking my dead in the eye and I am just-." He blinked, "Oh. Of course!"

And he was gone again, the wands on the desk floating back to their homes as soon as the boy was out of sight. Tom looked anxiously back at Harry and the witch who had introduced them to this world. But while Harry was confused, the witch just looked amused and gestured that he wait for the man to come back.

A few moments later he did, "We just received this wand. Or the core of it rather. A unique blend as I'm certain you can believe…"

He didn't explain but instead held out the box. When the lid slipped open, Tom's lips parted on a gasp. Inside lay the most beautiful piece of nearly white wood. The handle was polished to an extent it almost appeared to be made of bone. The textured surface reminding Tom of the curved head of a falcon. Even before he touched it, Tom knew it was for him. He could feel it calling out for him to pick it up and give a swish.

The instant he touched it he felt himself lift off the floor. He swore everything that had hurt within him was hidden in the beauty of the power which swept through his bones. He was smiling brightly as he landed. He opened his eyes and found an awestruck Ollivander with slightly singed eyebrows.

"A curious reaction, to be sure," The man shook his head, "But let us continue, yes?"

He turned to Harry, "We'll dispense with the formalities, shall we? Come. Pick one of these boxes which has remained."

Harry glanced at the desk, and there were actually a dozen or so boxes which had not floated away while Mr. Ollivander had gone to find Tom's wand. Of course, that was all null and void when Harry went to reach for one and they all floated away back to their shelves. And Tom's wand gave out a thrum of magic which made Harry's skin tingle and the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"Curious, very curious…"

"What's curious?" But the man had disappeared again before the question had even left Harry's mouth.

He looked back at Tom who was shrugging with a death grip on his own wand. He barely caught the witch out of the corner of his eye wearing a genuinely shocked expression, one which was replaced with a smile as Harry turned to look at her directly.

"This will be a very strange case, to be sure." Ollivander's voice startled Harry who whipped around to face the older man, "Try this one."

And the box opened. Harry stared down at the wand with a small smile. This was how he had always imagined a wizard's wand. The wood which made the wand itself was a deep brown with the lightest of reds seeming to blend through the surface. The handle was made out of the same wood, but it's unpolished state and bark-like texture gave it a darker brown that was closer to black than red. He lifted it up and immediately a song rang throughout the room and Harry felt warmth slide down his arm and seemingly cleanse his soul.

"Well… You two have done something quite unheard of today. You, young sir," he gestured Tom forward, "hold in your hand a thirteen-and-a-half-inch yew wand. A wood which shows a control over life and death. Quite often this is a wood found in the possession of healers. Of course, the word 'usually' implies a commonality which just does not fit. It is finicky but loyal and will doubtless work for no one beside yourself. This is one of the rarest woods to find in a wand."

He turned to Harry, "The rarest, excepting the wood which your young friend now carries. This is an eleven-inch-wand made out of holly. This, like the yew, is a protective wand. The wand will always find its way back to you out of loyalty and a determination which matches your own. It is a very passionate wand and will help you greatly."

He nodded, seemingly to himself, before folding his fingers and addressing them quietly, "As rare as these two woods are, the real magic is within them. For you each now possess wands with the rarest core. Phoenix feathers. The feather shows a great potential for magic and you will both be quite formidable opponents in whatever career to which you should aspire. They are a picky creature phoenix's but, once earned, their loyalty is absolute.

"The real miracle is that your wands not only share the same core, but also share feathers from the same phoenix. A phoenix who has only ever given two feathers."

There was a moment of silence in which Ollivander seemed to reflect on his own words before nodding.

"Of course a majority of people believe wandlore to be a myth. I suggest you take it all as you will and put it from your minds. You shall do as you shall regardless of a wand. Be the greatest dueller, a healer, a potions master, a politician, or even a wandmaker. Do whatever makes you happy."

Trhoughout his speech the young man guided them forcefully to the door, "Or not, it's is quite as you wish. I hope the rest of your day follows that path you choose. Fair the well."

And the door shut behind him.

(0,0)

After that there was not much to do. They had a drink (for which the witch gladly, eagerly paid) at the Leaky Cauldron and Harry decided he loved pumpkin juice. And the woman had encouraged them to pull out their books. The each grabbed for the first second-hand book they could find in their, quite messy, trunks. She had told him to get started on his reading and especially the history books, his teacher would make it boring, so best to learn it now.

It seemed like only moments since they arrived here and yet the sun was preparing to set against the sky. The witch hustled them out of the cozy room and onto the street where she hailed a cab with surprising ease. Then with that she gave them muggle fare they would need to arrive back home as there was no way they would make it back by curfew on foot. And she stepped away from them as they stood by the curb and headed back inside.

It was Harry who called out to the woman as she headed back into the cauldron and presumably to floo away. A way that wizard's travelled she said. You just threw in the powder said where you wanted to go and off you went. Harry assumed it was like calling the telephone operator.

"Sorry, ma'am. But what's your name?"

She grinned at him and pointed at the book in his hands, "Bathilda."

The Riddle boys stared at the empty door way with open mouths before Harry grinned. They slipped into the black car and Tom gave the cab driver their address. Harry just watched out the window and could only stare as they began to pull away. He had a feeling he was going to love this new world.

 ** _I am so sorry this took me longer than I promised by 3 hours! You guys managed to get fifteen reviews in 48 hours! I am so impressed and happy you've all enjoyed this story so much. I know I'm really falling in love with them! I would have had this chapter out sooner, but I wanted to make sure all of the characters actually fit the time period and it's amazing how many of them don't have birthdates. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!_**

 ** _Also the sorting is coming up, probably next chapter, so I need to know what you guys think: Are they both going to the same house? Different ones? Which houses? They still have the same wands, is history going to repeat itself?_**

 ** _Let me know what you think! And I'll keep to my promise of 10 reviews meaning an update within 24 hours. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with you guys! Thanks again for reading, I love all of you and I love hearing from you!_**


	4. Chapter 3

**_Author's Note: I knew I was going to regret making that promise. I'm going to have to change our deal guys. I love you all but writing 3000 words a day is not leaving a lot of time for NaNoWriMo and college. Much less work and all that other stuff. But for now…_**

It amazed Harry how fast the rest of the summer went. He and Tom told the staff at the Orphanage that someone had helped them get all of their stuff and that it turned out she had actually written one of their books. But besides that they kind of skimmed over the details.

The staff were quite proud but were distracted as all of the other children were preparing to go to school. Unlike Harry and Tom, they weren't getting scholarships. So Mrs. Cole and Jillian were digging through paperwork trying to figure out where the money could be siphoned off for school supplies and clean clothes. So the Riddle boys were left on their own, and so they sat in their room and read through their last few weeks of summer.

Harry was a little sad about it, but Tom pointed out it would be much easier to study their books without the worry of needing to hide. He told Harry that the staff had been more attentive than usual while Harry had been here. Besides at a boarding school they weren't likely to get much attention either. There were probably going to be at least thirty other kids there. That was a lot of kids to keep track of.

The little boy nodded and turned his face back to his books. This could be used to their advantage, Tom was right…. But he couldn't focus. His eyes kept drifting back to the closed door. He was thinking about how different it would be leaving. Thinking about those two awful nights away when he thought he would never see Tom again. Then about how it would be like at the school: would Tom and him still share a room? Would they have other roommates? What if he decided Harry really wasn't good enough? What if they all decided he wasn't good enough? Would Harry still have his home here?

Tom slammed his book closed and glared at Harry, "I would prefer it if you would think quieter. You are acting like a dog who's been locked away and told they were bad. You will be just fine if no one tells you how wonderful you are until dinner. Now, I would suggest reading that book you seem determined to destroy."

Harry flinched at Tom's words, looked down at where his hands were creasing the pages and flinched again. He tried to smooth the wrinkles but couldn't. Eventually he just closed the book and grabbed another. He really was acting like a stupid little kid. He didn't need their attention all of the time. He was going to get spoiled like Dudley if he kept this up. Harry made a note to not eat too much at dinner tonight.

He flipped open the book by Emeric Switch instead and began reading the introduction. Eventually (he was less than a page in), Tom sighed.

"Don't go moping now. I didn't mean to snap, I'm just-."

Harry shook his head, "No, no, you were right. We need to focus, and I am being needy and no one likes a needy child. I need to read this now, I know you already finished this one."

"Harry, I-."

The little boy shrugged and made some small noise that cut off Tom's words. The taller boy watched as green eyes squinted over the page, not even a hand's distance away in order to make out the words. Harry really needed new glasses. He did okay with these until it came to reading but now…

Tom frowned as the boy sat still, his lips parting silently over every word. He hadn't meant to snap, but Harry said it was okay. So why was Tom still feeling that something was wrong, that he needed to change something. Perhaps if he tried to talk again…

Harry sighed this time, "Tom, it's hard to read with you staring at me."

And so the older boy turned his eyes down but he couldn't stop his eyes from flicking to the other boy. Looking much like the chastised dog he had accused Harry of resembling. Still the rest of the afternoon passed in silence until the clock tolled five. Even then the only sound was the shuffling of books back into their trunks and quiet sounds of their steps as they moved down the stairs for dinner.

It was when Harry's silence continued, despite a few comments from Tom that the older boy decided to drop it entirely. If Harry was going to be juvenile enough to hold one slip up against him then Tom could just wait for him to grow up. Harry would talk to him at some point and until he did Tom wouldn't say a word.

The Riddle boys settled at their table in their usual manner. Tom calmly pulling out his chair and settling down with his napkin on his lap, Harry flopping on the chair beside him before dropping it in his lap and only remembering to smooth it as an afterthought. That was when it started to go sideways.

Mrs. Cole and Jillian exchanged glances as they took in the way Harry had returned to his mild-mannered quiet self. Not to mention how Tom's attitude had some of the kids remembering why they had avoided him for ten years. They glanced at each other from their seats on opposite sides of the table and shook their heads. The boys were having their first real fight.

They could only hope that the orphanage would remain standing in the last few nights of their stay.

(0,0)

The good news was that the orphanage remained standing. The bad news was that Tom had turned all of his frustration on the younger boy. He kept hoping that Harry would talk to him and when the boy didn't, Tom lashed out.

The older boy laughed when Harry suddenly tripped. Had stood by, watching as Harry just silently gathered his books to head outside. He pushed Harry out of his way when he tried to go into the game room. He sneered at the boy whenever he opened his mouth to talk to anyone. Egging him on in his silence.

The staff had done their best to stop it but were worried that separating them would do more harm than good. All of the other kids seemed to be caught in the middle. They didn't dare ignore Harry, having been informed by the matrons that snubbing the little boy would result in alley clean-up duty and a loss of dessert privileges. But they also couldn't really fault Tom.

Most of the kids had tried daring Harry to do various things, in an attempt to open him up again. Like climb the tree Jason had broken his wrist falling out of last year. Like stealing something out of the kitchen. Like petting the feral dog that ran around the orphanage.

But it hadn't worked the way they had wanted.

Harry had climbed to the top of the tree, and back down. He had stolen a handful of biscuits, and then proceeded to refuse any at dinner. He had sat on the curb in front of the orphanage for hours, with scraps from the breakfast he had only picked at, until the terrifying and starving animal accepted the food and eventually allowed Harry to pet him. Harry had then led the dog to the pound where they promised to find him a loving home.

The children had accepted at that point that Harry wasn't going to be himself until he was once again Little Riddle. They only hoped that the two got it all straightened out before they came back.

(0,0)

Tom had been thinking hard about how to get to the station. His letter had come with a ticket onto the platform so they knew where to go but not how they would get there or where they were going afterwards. The answer came pretty quickly though.

There was a knock on their door downstairs, the boy's didn't pay much attention. Too busy pretending the other didn't exist while carefully moving around their room. Which was probably why they both perked up at the sound of their names.

"Good morning, dear. My name is Helena Hilliard, I'm a professor at Hogwarts, you see. I was sent to collect the Riddle boys. We wanted to make the transition for them as easy as possible."

The boys shared a quick look before grabbing their trunks and hurrying to the door. Harry opening it just in time for Tom to shove through. The smaller boy struggled out the door with his trunk, banging and scraping his knees and elbows in the process. He pulled the door shut behind him and spent a few long moments staring at the wood with a deep look in his eyes.

That was how Tom came back to find him. The older boy cleared his throat but Harry didn't even blink.

"Harry?"

The small boy swallowed and turned to Tom with a watery gaze and a trembling lip. The older boy didn't even think before opening his arms. Harry flung himself forward and wrapped his own arms around Tom's waist.

"Hey, it'll be okay. We're going to have a great time and we'll come back here this summer and it'll be just the same."

Harry shook his head, "Penelope will be adopted by then. Missy will be in her new home, too."

Tom shrugged, "That'll happen whether we're here or not, Harry. We need to go take care of ourselves."

The small boy didn't seemed reassured much-less comforted by that thought but he straightened nonetheless and reached for his trunk. Tom grabbed the other end and they made their way down the stairs.

(0,0)

Mrs. Cole had given them both quick hugs once they reached the entrance hall (Tom's face as the woman embraced him was purely shock), but after that they were left on their own as Penelope started to cry about Tom staying to read her a story and Harry promised to play dolls with her. Jimmy, the next youngest at six years old seemed terrified to see more children leaving with all of their things. His first memory of an adoption being Harry's failed attempt all those weeks ago, he was not eager for a repeat.

But Professor Hilliard was not all that impressed by the display and tapped her foot in some mockery of a rhythm. Harry and Tom were barely allowed to say their goodbyes and receive another hug, this one from Jillian, before they were ushered out the door and towards the alley.

Harry frowned, "Umm… Ma'am? There's no way out through there. The road has been blocked."

She nodded, "Which makes it quite perfect to start our journey don't you think?"

Harry didn't think but seeing Tom's firm shake of the head and pursed lips Harry realized he was being annoying again and he held his tongue.

"Right, hand over your trunks."

Both boys slid the trunks in front of them and watched openly as the woman swished her arm in some kind of backwards 'R' with a flick and whispered something under her breath. Harry felt his jaw drop open as his and Tom's things shrunk down to the size of a mouse.

"Now we really must hurry. We have two more children whom we are escorting. So hold tightly to my arms. Don't worry about hurting me. And close your eyes. Think only of the feel of my clothes under your hands."

Harry barely had a chance to nod before the woman spun on her heel and Harry felt himself yanked into the smallest space he'd ever felt with the two others. When they landed, Harry found his face on the ground and his glasses shattered on the ground. He stifled a mewl of disappointment and tucked the broken remains into his pocket. He squinted as he struggled to his feet wanting to know where on earth he was. It definitely did not sound like London any more…

He did his best to track onto the professor's shape as she walked… somewhere.

Eventually he heard the knock on the door, "Yes, good morning, Mrs. King, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Johnson. I am quite glad that you were able to find each other. I am hoping that knowing there is another family going through a similar transition will be beneficial to you during your adjustment as well as your children's."

Harry guessed one of the women nodded, "Yes, and it is quite good of you to offer to escort them. I'm afraid the platform number had us quite confused."

The professor gave what Harry could only assume was an attempt at a compassionate smile. As she ushered their children out, albeit showing much more patience with the parental goodbyes than at the orphanage, Harry tried to take in the smaller forms that came out the door. They made it a little easier on him though. One was a girl who seemed to have obscenely-long dark hair, the other a boy with spiked blond hair.

With their goodbye's finished, the five of them made their way back the way Tom and Harry had come and were soon in yet another alley. Harry's stomach locked at the thought of doing that disappearing tube thing again.

"Alright, well apparating with two side-alongs is challenging but it's nearly impossible with four so this time I do believe it is safer that we use this portkey I was given. You will all now touch this book, a finger will suffice."

They all did although Harry felt dread pooling in his stomach.

"Right, now do try to land on your feet. Raven."

And before Harry could even think to ask what she meant he felt a hook behind his bellybutton and found himself spinning out of control with his finger inexplicably attached to the old book. There was absolutely no way he could have controlled his landing. He vaguely felt them slowing and could hear the woman calling for them to get ready but regardless he landed hard, face-first with a groan. The only consolation he had was that the other two were lying down as well.

Amazingly though, Tom had managed to remain standing alongside Professor Hilliard. He looked a little wobbly but other that than that he didn't seem to be in too bad of shape in Harry's admittedly blurry vision.

"Alright now, up, up. We have not got time to dither about. Your train leaves in less than a half-hour. Regardless of whether or not you four are on it or not."

The three on the ground hurried to stand and brush themselves off. Then they were hastened forward and their teacher frowned and started mumbling to herself about it being a good thing she was half-way decent with her shrinking charms. Eventually she stood in front of platform nine guided them around the various signs until they stood in front of one that seemed no different than any of the others.

"Perfect, now we've just enough time so onwards, children."

They all just stared at each other before blinking at the woman who seemed to collapse within herself, "I take it not a single one of you has chosen to read _Hogwarts: A History_?"

Harry shook his head, they hadn't been able to afford any extra books, much as Tom had wanted to read that one and every other book in the shop.

"Not a Raven in the bunch," she muttered before clearing her throat, "Right then, the entrance to the platform is magically hidden and only accessible by those with magic. As such you need to walk straight forward into the stone pillar in front of you."

Harry glanced at her with shock, "You want us to walk into a stone wall?"

She tsked, "No, I expect you to walk _through_ the stone barrier. Understood?"

Harry bit his lip and could imagine Tom tilting his head to the side as he scrutinized the barrier. Eventually it was the only girl in their group who shook her hair out and stepped forward. She looked at the barrier and then glanced back at their teacher.

"I just walk forward? Like it is just an illusion?"

The teacher seemed to hesitate before giving a slight not, "It is similar to an illusion. Just walk forward and you will cross through onto the other side."

The girl nodded once; Harry watched as she pulled her long hair into a messy-bun before striding forwards with confidence. Then she was gone.

"Wonderful, who is next?"

Tom strode forward without waiting for acknowledgement and soon had disappeared as well. Harry felt the professor's eyes on him when neither he nor the other boy moved.

"Move it along, you two."

Harry swallowed and turned to the other boy, "It's wide enough, I bet we could go through together?"

He held out his hand and the blond smiled before accepting and under the impatient shoe tapping of the woman they strode forwards. Harry felt the boy beside him hesitate but refused to stop and gripped his hand tighter before stepping through, dragging the bigger boy with him.

There was a moment of silence where Harry assumed he was actually inside the wall before he was suddenly confronted by all of the noise that had been inside the muggle station. He staggered at the sudden noise but was comforted when he recognized to familiar blurs in front of them. They were eventually joined by their new professor who seemed anxious to be somewhere, anywhere, else.

"Quite. Now here are your things," She pulled out their trunks and set them down before a complicated wave had them full-size again, "You shall have to arrange your own transport home, and will have to travel with your trunks as normal. Follow the rest of the students. You must be sure to change into your robes before arrival at the school as you will not have time once you arrive. The train leaves in 20 minutes. Enjoy your ride."

She spun on her heel and was gone. It was the girl who spoke up next, "She seems… distracted."

Tom snorted, "She was downright rude. If all of the professors are like that it will be quite a long year."

The girl shrugged before gripping her trunk and dragging it forwards, "Should we all find a compartment together then?"

Harry smiled, liking the idea of having some new friends to start the trip and eagerly agreed. Tom seemed to acquiesce but assumed he would rather have gone to find some older students to answer some questions than sit with a bunch of kids who didn't have any more answers than he did.

Of course, they did not anticipate the struggle of finding a compartment with space for all four of them. The more compartment's they past the more worried Harry became. He really didn't want to end up sitting by themselves, but eventually the dark-haired girl found a space and grinned.

She paused just inside the door, "Do you mind if we join you? There's not a lot of empty space here…"

"Absolutely, please do. You must be some of the first years, correct?"

The four of them nodded and smiled as the older girl and her friend helped them to load their trunks into the waiting racks above the seats. Eventually they were all settled and an awkward silence threatened to consume them when the older girl spoke up.

"My name is Poppy, Poppy Pomfrey. I'm a fifth year Slytherin and a prefect this year. Which means that I should be able to help you with any problems that come up."

"And I'm Charlus Potter. I'm also a fifth year and a prefect, but I'm in Gryffindor."

The girl spoke up, "What are Slytherin and Gryffindor?"

"They're our houses," Poppy smiled at them, "There are four of them at Hogwarts. You'll get sorted into the house which best suits you and will allow you to grow and flourish."

"How are we sorted?" The Hufflepuff boy spoke up for the first time.

Pomfrey went to answer, but was cut off by Potter's hand on her own, "That's a surprise. But whatever house you're in you'll do fine."

"What do they mean? And what are the others called?" Tom spoke up.

The two shared a smile before turning back, "Well, Slytherin is for people who are cunning, we don't tend to wear our emotions on our sleeves, and our constantly looking for how to help ourselves and those closest to us."

"Gryffindor is for the courageous. We tend to throw ourselves into situations for others, without consideration for ourselves." He pointed to his chest where a small crest sat, "Which is why our symbol is a lion. We also tend to be rather loud."

Pomfrey laughed, "Quite. Well, the others are Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw is for those who prefer knowledge and wisdom, they tend to always have a book and get good grades. Though not always, I've been told often that book-smart does not equate intelligence. Hufflepuff is generally for those who are completely loyal, kind, and loving. They also tend to be the house where everyone who does not quite fit into the other houses are placed. Because they are so accepting."

The girl nodded, "What are the symbols?"

Potter smiled, "Well, each house has an animal attached to it. They represent our biggest qualities. For example: Slytherin is a snake, silent until it is ready to strike. They can slip in and out and is undoubtedly powerful, and hard to grasp. Gryffindor's lion is powerful, courageous, and hard to miss. They proudly show their claws and are willing to stand up for what's right."

Pomfrey cut in, "And they are lazy until inspired."

Potter gave her a wry smirk, "Hmmm… well, I like to think of it as selectively energetic but…"

Pomfrey rolled her eyes, "Ravenclaw is a raven, it symbolizes a moment to stop and think about what is happening. A chance to observe everything and learn."

"They also have a fascination with hair and shiny things."

Pomfrey smacked Potter with the back of her hand, "Hush you. The last house, Hufflepuff, is symbolized by a honey badger. At first glance they don't seem very threatening. However as calm as the honey badger can be, only hunting what it needs, other predators leave it alone. Honey badgers will fight until the death and have been known to defeat lions, cheetahs, and snakes in a fight. They stay with their young for well over a year showing loyalty. So basically, they are a fierce surprise."

The kids nodded.

Potter grinned, "We have to head up to the prefect's carriage, but we'll be back. First however, I'd like to know your names."

Harry felt himself blush, "I'm Harry Riddle."

The girl spoke up, "I'm Juliana King, I go by Anna."

"I'm Maxwell Johnson, but I prefer Max." was the other boy's response.

"Tom Riddle."

Potter blinked and looked between the two of them, "Are you two brothers then? Twins?"

Harry shook his head, "Tom's my best friend."

The older boy blinked but seemed to let it go as something to be explored later, "Very well then, we'll see you in an hour or so, Poppy?"

The older girl stood as well. Harry and the three other boys rose alongside her, but he winced as his broken glasses cut into his leg.

"Riddle? Are you okay?"

Harry blinked, "It's just Harry, please. And I'm okay, just have a cut on my leg."

Pomfrey frowned, "You should go to the hospital wing when we get to school, after the feast. Cuts can be a big problem and they're easy to fix so I'd just go get it dealt with."

Harry nodded shyly and tucked his face down.

Eventually the door to their carriage closed and Harry let his eyes fall closed too. It had been a long morning so far and it wasn't like he had slept well the last few nights. So he didn't even think of how the voices were fading behind the soothing noise of the train and how everything seemed so peaceful until long after he had fallen asleep.

(0,0)

Harry was woken up by a familiar voice, "Harry, we need to get changed now."

Green eyes opened with a blink and he shifted to rub his eyes, not entirely certain where he was. He reached for his glasses only to nearly fall off the seat. That was when he remembered with a smile. They were going to Hogwarts.

He immediately stood and was beyond thankful when Tom shoved the robes into his arms. He didn't think he would be able to find them in his trunk with the way he was seeing right now. He managed to struggle into his robes much to the amusement of Potter who laughed and helped him get straightened out right.

"You remind me of my cousin Fleamont. He couldn't get his robes on properly if you paid him. Always knocks his glasses off in the process. And he's nearly thirty now."

Harry felt himself blushing but thanked the older boy for his help.

"Alright, we should be there in about 10 minutes. I'd pack up anything you don't want at the feast, the house elves will deal with your trunks. And finish up that candy if you don't want it to get melted before you can eat it."

Harry blinked, when had they gotten candy? But smiled in thanks when Anna stuffed a small box in his hands.

"What are these?"

"Bertie Bott's, I think that's what they said. They're like jellybeans but some of the flavors are _really_ gross."

Harry popped one in his mouth, biting into it before gagging, "Oh my God!"

Anna and Max giggled, "What did you get?"

Harry forced it down before attempting to scrape the taste off with his teeth, "I don't know! But it tasted like vomit."

Anna gave what Harry supposed was a sympathetic smile, "Yeah, that's one of the flavors."

Harry handed the box back and they all took turns swallowing one of the disgusting beans until they heard a yell from one of the other compartments.

"Look! There it is!"

They all scrambled to the window where they saw the very tips of stone towers before they disappeared behind the hills and trees.

Harry frowned, "I want to see the castle…"

Anna gave him a look, "What do you mean? We'll all see it soon, I'm sure."

He shook his head, "No, I accidently broke my glasses, I can barely see your face. I'll miss the castle entirely. I don't even know when I can get a new pair here… This is going to be impossible."

Anna grabbed his hand, "Let's ask someone. Maybe there's a place in the town where we're getting dropped off. They won't be perfect, but it'll be something."

Harry smiled at her and sensed Tom's nod even as Max came up to squeeze his other hand. Anna grinned as the train suddenly jerked to a stop. Dragging them out with an excited laugh, Tom meandering after them.

Max was the first one to spot Pomfrey. Pointing her out with a grin and starting towards her. But it surprised no one when Anna started to call out to the prefect.

"Miss Pomfrey, Miss Pomfrey!"

The fifteen-year-old turned at her name and smiled at the little ones, "Hey there. You guys are supposed to be heading over to Ogg so he can lead you guys in on the boats!"

Harry turned to do just that but Anna held fast to his hand, "Harry needs new glasses first! He can't see the castle like this and that would be so sad!"

Pomfrey nodded, "Quite, what happened to your old ones, Harry?"

The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out the pieces, cutting his finger. Pomfrey frowned.

"I assume this is where the cut on your leg came from, too?"

Harry nodded.

"Silly boy, you should have mentioned it. This is an easy fix. Though I do suggest going to the mediwitch to get it sorted."

She pulled out her wand and held it carefully over the glasses.

" _Reparo!"_

Harry and Anna gasped as the frames mended and the glass sealed itself before jumping into place.

"There you are. Now mind you, I would suggest still going to the Matron about these. You'll likely still need new ones."

Harry gave her a hug before having Max and Anna drag him off towards where a grouchy old man was calling for all of the first years.

(0,0)

The ride in the boats had been amazing (albeit a little chilly) and the waiting had been horrible (as had been the less than heartening speech by Professor Hilliard) but finally the doors had opened and the first years had huddled together before scooching into the room in a herd.

"When I call your name, come forward. I will place this hat on your head and you shall be put into your house."

And so it began. Professor Hilliard calling the students forward one at a time to be sorted.

"Abbot, Amelia."

Harry was shocked along with a good number of the other students when the rip at the brim of the hat opened, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Avery, Kenelm."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Diggory, Weston."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Fawcett, Johnathon."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Haywood, Eleanor."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Johnson, Maxwell."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"King, Julianna."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Lestrange, Recardo."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Lovegood, Trentyn."

"RAVENCLAW!"

It was all going so fast! There was no one Harry wanted to be with, except Tom. Maybe the kids from the train but they were already in different houses. And Harry just knew he was going to be sorted before Tom. Harry knew he missed some of the names as his thoughts ran rampant.

"Prince, Eileen."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Pod…" Hilliard stopped leaning closer as if to decipher the name, "Riddle, Harry."

Harry's breath caught in his throat as he slowly, carefully, made his way up the steps and settled on the chair. The hat sat on his head, and as with so many of the other students, it fell almost instantly over his eyes. However, unlike the other students it seemed to hesitate.

 _"My, my, my… what have we here? You are definitely a unique case here."_

Harry blinked, thinking carefully to himself, _what is going on here?_

 _"Ah, yes, you wouldn't remember. Quite a clever thing your magic. An eleven-year-old with such knowledge, but what a gift to be able to relive one's youth, definitely a difficult path you have chosen. Of course, you have no idea what I am speaking about and without the magic from before. Without your youth and influence why I believe I know just where I can put you. It'll likely help you with your mission. As well…"_

 _"What mission?"_

He could feel the hat smirking, _"Ah, but that would be telling…"_

And the next sound reverberated throughout his mind and the great hall.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

He rushed down from under the curious eyes of the crowd and searched for the familiar brown eyes. Tom gave what Harry knew passed for a smile but was not able to do more when his own name rang through the hall.

"Riddle, Tom."

Harry held his breath but couldn't hold onto his hope. Hufflepuffs were open, loving, loyal, but Tom… Tom was loyal, but he did it in secret. He kept to himself and used his power to earn his status. Harry had been the only one not really intimidated by Tom. At least not anymore than he had been intimidated by everyone. Harry had been different, intriguing.

The boy sat on the stool and the hat dropped onto his head, rip opening almost instantly. With a sigh Harry accepted his fate, there was no doubt in his mind that Tom would be a-.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Harry joined the quiet, polite clapping of the Slytherin's and tried not to be hurt when Tom didn't even look his way.

"Rosier, Druella."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Rosier, Vinda."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Sanders, Viola."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Turpin, Elizabeth."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Zabini, Keagan."

"SLYTHERIN!"

And so it was done. There was a song, a part of Harry amazed as the hat began to sing. And the wizened old man sitting between Professor's Hilliard and Dumbledore led them all through the school song, the lyrics written out by a long ribbon. But even the magic of more food then Harry had ever seen, appearing on the table could not capture Harry's attention.

All he could do was look over at the Slytherin table and hope that eventually Tom would look up to meet his gaze.

Eventually the feast ended and the students were warned to stay away from the Forbidden Forest (why would they bother, anything named Forbidden was sure to attract a lot of student attention) and then told to follow their prefects to their new home.

Harry listened as the older boy told them the rules and expectations. Before being shown how to get into their common room, apparently you had to touch the portrait's hand and ask for permission to enter, and being directed to the dorms which he would be sharing with all of the other kids in his year and house. Harry barely said hello to the other kids before climbing into the yellow bed and shutting his curtains. He spent the next hour wishing he could hear the quiet sound of Tom turning the pages as he finally, fitfully, fell asleep.

 **Okay… I'll admit, not my best chapter, but I wanted to get it out to you all and there was a lot of researching that needed to be done. I wanted to keep ages as close to cannon as possible (did you guys know that Armando Dippet was already 200 years old by this point? Yikes, right?). So I wanted to make sure no characters appeared who already had children by this point or whatever. Lot's of clicking and reading. But now that I have most of the characters all picked it should go a lot faster.**

 **Sorry I couldn't put them together but… Tom couldn't be a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor and Harry couldn't be a Slytherin or a Ravenclaw so… drama! Thanks for everything you guys! Follow me on my facebook page to get notes about when I'm updating and see some cute artwork!**


	5. Chapter 4

The first week at Hogwarts left Harry yearning for something more. Harry didn't know what exactly he had expected. Perhaps this wonderful new world where Tom and he would be accepted, loved, and no longer different from everyone else. A world where he could do well in school. A world where he wouldn't have to live in fear of being attacked. A world where his teachers would believe him, where he had adults he could trust.

Instead he got a world where he was still the bottom of his class because he and the other muggle-borns had no idea about the basics of this world, leaving them struggling behind the pure- and half-bloods. He got placed in a room with two other boys who he didn't even know and Tom hadn't talked to him in weeks.

Harry shook his head that wasn't true, technically. Tom was his partner in Herbology, but under Professor Beery's watchful eye they never spoke about anything besides the plant they were tending. He also shared Astronomy, and History of Magic with Tom. But it didn't matter.

No matter how many classes they shared together the older boy seemed to be slipping seamlessly into this life. He never asked questions and snorted along with the other Slytherin's when someone asked what they felt was a stupid question.

But Harry realized that it was probably his fault. He had shut Tom out before they came to school. He also hadn't gone searching Tom out after he had found him laughing with his dormmates that second day. Maybe that was what Harry needed? Maybe it was what Tom had needed too?

Of course, there was the problem that Harry was having these thoughts at two o'clock in the morning because he couldn't sleep without the nearly silent breaths of Tom. Weston snored and Max snorted and wheezed. Harry always had trouble falling asleep if either of them did first. And tonight, it just wasn't happening.

With a sigh Harry parted his curtains and carefully slipped out of his bed, into his dressing gown, and out of the dorm. He curled up in the big cushy chair in front of the fireplace and stared into the fading flames. He watched as spark after spark flee up the floo and as each branch cracked under the pressure. He fell asleep imagining that the quiet pops were the sounds of Tom tutting at a character in his latest book.

And woke to the sound of an actually disproving tut.

Harry startled awake at the far too familiar sound and fell off the chair he was in, right into the feet of Kettleburn, the sixth-year prefect.

"Potter. You know very well it is against the rules to leave your dormitory after curfew," Harry ducked his head, having forgotten about that in his desire to get away from the sounds of his sleeping dormmates, "so would you care to explain why I have found you asleep in our common room?"

Harry shrugged, "I… I'm having issues sleeping in my room. I'm not used to sharing with people who-."

Kettleburn snorted, "We all had to get used to sharing, Potter. I also have my own room at home. You'll have to learn to live with it. I won't find you out of bed in the future, is that understood."

A part of Harry rebelled at being ignored. A part of him that seemed far off, that seemed to want to be strong and stand up to everyone. But another part of him seemed weary, tired of having to fight every minute of the day and that part nodded once.

Harry kept his eyes on the floor and headed towards his dorm, pulling his dressing gown around him. He was pulled to a stop by a hand on his arm, the strong grip yanking him back. He was forced around to face the prefect and Harry felt his stomach twist.

"I expect an actual response, Potter."

Harry stumbled to reply, "Sorry, Mr. Kettleburn. I won't be out of my dorm again."

The prefect acquiesced, giving one firm squeeze before releasing Harry's shoulder and the boy ran up the stairs to his dorm, making sure to be quiet when he walked in. Unfortunately, his dormmates were already awake.

"There you are, Harry! We were worried when you weren't in the bathrooms. We asked Kettleburn if you were in the hospital wing but he said you weren't. Where were you?"

Harry shrugged, "I just fell asleep in the common room. I'm not quite used to sleeping in the dorms yet."

Weston winced, "It's because I snore? I hoped it wasn't a problem for either of you…"

The other two smiled and Harry shook his head while Max said it wasn't a problem.

"I'm just not used to it yet. It'll be fine soon. I was just used to sharing a room with Tom and I don't think he ever sleeps so I always fell asleep to the sound of him reading."

Weston and Max shared a look, "Why don't you go talk to him?"

"It's obvious you miss him. I'm sure he misses you, too."

Harry just shrugged and grabbed his clothes before heading into the bathroom. As he glanced in the mirror at the newly forming bruise on his shoulder, the boy was happy that he had started changing in here the very first day. At least he wouldn't have to face questions on his way to breakfast.

(0,0)

Today was their first flying lesson. Harry was beyond nervous. He was so excited to fly, it seemed like the most freeing experience every time he watched the Hufflepuff quidditch practice. So as he trooped out with the Ravenclaws, he couldn't help the bounce in his step.

Madam Wadcock (Harry couldn't make him call her "Joscelind" or "Josie" like she had asked) was a professional player who had graduated ten years ago. She had volunteered to help the last flight instructor and now seemed to enjoy it enough that she had jumped at the chance to take over the position when Headmaster Dippet had asked.

She met them all with a smile, "Alright! Now that the introductions are over, it's time for the fun part! Now I know some of you have flown before, either by yourselves or with someone, but I _expect_ everyone to remain firmly on the ground until I say otherwise. Any willful deviation from my instructions will lead to detention at the very least. Flying is not as easy as it seems and some people never get the hang of it. This is one of the most dangerous lessons you will ever have at Hogwarts so there is to be no mucking around. Is that understood?"

Harry felt his stomach plummet, maybe he didn't want to fly after all. He absently rubbed his shoulder and missed the careful look the instructor sent his way. But he nodded nonetheless at her words.

There were other nods and her serious mood disappeared in an instant, replaced by the bright smile she had worn for the last ten minutes. She clapped her hands and excitedly gave directions for everyone to stand beside their brooms. They were to stand to the left and hold out their right hands.

Harry ended up picking last, he wasn't going to fight through that crowd and ended up standing beside the most rickety looking broom and across from Lizzy Turpin. She gave him a small smile, but seeing as she had been bragging before class that she already had her own broom, so he wasn't really comforted by it.

"Alright, now this is the tricky bit, your first bit of wandless magic," she winked at them, "You need to call your broom to your hand. You need to forceful, but not angry or aggressive. All you have to do is say 'up.' And the broom should come right up. Don't be discouraged if it takes a few tries."

Harry took a deep breath and spoke firmly, "Up!"

The broom smacked into his hand, hard enough for Harry to rock with the force of it. He glanced around at his classmates, only to see that no one else had their broom in hand yet. He blushed and prayed that no one had noticed.

"Well done, Mr. Riddle. 10 points to Hufflepuff for the first success."

Harry bit his lip, well at least she hadn't said he did it on the first try…

It was a long ten minutes before everyone had a broom in their hand.

"Great! Now next time that should be much easier. Eventually you'll be able to do it without even saying anything. Although that will be much easier when you own your own broom. These brooms are a little harder to form a connection with, having had so many riders."

She smiled at all of them, "Alright," Another clap of her hands, "Now we will straddle your brooms. Throw your right leg over. Perfect! Now I want you to keep your feet planted. When I count to three you will kick off hard. For those of you who have ridden a horse, the same principle applies. The harder you kick the faster (or in this case higher) you will go. But if you don't kick hard enough nothing will happen.

"Once you are in the air you will hover. To touch back down lean over the front of your broom and stretch your toes to the ground. I will expect everyone back down within a few seconds, understood?"

Another round of nods, "Very well, on my count- One- Two- Three!"

Harry took a deep breath and kicked. He shot into the air but quickly got control of the sudden height and grinned as felt the swoosh in his stomach. Suddenly he remembered, he was supposed to be on the ground.

The small Hufflepuff glanced down and saw Madam Wadcock mounting her own broom. He was hovering probably twenty feet up. Grimacing at the reprimand he was sure to get, Harry leaned forwards, pointing the broom down as he did and began his descent.

He was going a little faster than he anticipated, but he couldn't seem to find the care to worry. Then he saw the ground. With a sigh, Harry pulled up on the front of his broom. The broom levelled out until Madam Wadcock was at his eye level. Then he slowly leant forwards until his toes touched the ground and the magic of the broom ceased, lowering him to the ground.

Madam Wadcock grinned, "That was an example of a kick that was perhaps a little too hard, or perhaps an overeager broom. But more importantly that was an expert demonstration of a dive."

There was a moment of silence as the instructor seemed to think over her words, "I recall asking the students who have flown before to restrain themselves from showing off, Mr. Riddle."

Harry felt his mouth drop open but didn't say anything else. Max was the one to speak up though, "Harry's really never flown before, ma'am."

The woman raised a slightly skeptical eyebrow, "Your parents have never flown with you, Mr. Riddle?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know, ma'am. They're dead."

There was a silence as the entire class seemed to suddenly inhale, Madam Wadcock winced, "I'm sorry, Mr. Riddle."

He shrugged, "It's alright, they died when I was a baby, so I don't even remember them. I was raised as a muggle after they died."

The woman frowned and then seemed to shake her thoughts into focus before she nodded, "Well in that case, you have a natural gift Mr. Riddle. I expect we could see some great things out of you in the future."

Harry smiled at her and decided that he probably wanted to play quidditch when he grew up.

(0,0)

The little Hufflepuff decided that tonight was a goodnight to work on his homework. Wes and Max where destroying their room in a violent game of gobstones, so Harry made his way up to the library. He was greeted by several of the prefects, (not Kettleburn) and the professors, even a ghost said hello to him. So Harry was in a great mood when he finally reached the library. The matron was out of sight so Harry breathed a sigh of relief and claimed a table

He had just pulled out his History of Magic text when another set of second-hand books were set down in front of him. Green eyes blinked with a frown, a frown which faded instantly when Harry glanced up to meet a familiar pair of brown eyes.

"Tom!"

Tom gave a sound which vaguely represented a chuckle.

"Which essay are you working on?"

Harry grinned, "Binn's. I swear that man drones on forever talking about these wars."

The Slytherin nodded, "I've decided to leave that one until last. I am not certain what he's looking for in the essays yet."

The younger boy nodded before flipping to his notes from the day the paper was assigned to them. Tom opened his own book (Harry recognized their potions text) and managed to keep quiet for all of another thirty seconds.

"I'm sorry about not talking to you…."

Tom shrugged, "We've both been busy."

Harry shook his head, "No, I meant before we started. I didn't think it would bother you, but I think it may have?"

An eyebrow rose in response to Harry's jumbled response.

"Yeah, it doesn't make much sense, but I was worried that I really was annoying you so I wanted to be quieter, but then you started ignoring me back. And then we started school and well… this is the first time we've talked since we got here."

Tom smiled lightly, the barest turn up at the corners of his mouth. He reached out a hand, "Yes, well I didn't want to be the first to give in. But I am glad we decided to speak again."

That was the last of their conversation, their eyes turning down to their books as the light faded from the windows. They worked side by side as they had for the last month of the summer and Harry felt certain that it was all going to work out.

He left the library with a smile and a totally care-free view of the world. He was caught up on his homework, he loved his roommates (despite the strange noises they made in their sleep), he was friends with his best friend again, and he was sleeping in the most wonderful bed.

Perhaps it was a good thing that Harry couldn't see the future, for if he had he would not have slept nearly as well and the boy was going to need all of the rest he could get to make it through the next couple of days.

(0,0)

Harry's troubles started for him two days after he had reconnected with Tom.

The little boy was in the bathroom having been in a mess of an accident during their flying lessons, and had been trying to get the mud out of his robe and shirt. Which left him in his undershirt in front of the sink. Tom had come in, wanting to make sure he was okay and had been horrified to see a purplish bruise on the boy's upper arm.

"Harry! I didn't think you'd gotten hurt in your fall, everyone said it was just messy!"

The little boy had frowned at Tom, his green eyes confused, "What do you mean? I didn't get hurt."

Tom snorted, "Have you missed that giant bruise on your shoulder?"

Harry stiffened suddenly, "Oh. Um… yeah I guess I didn't notice it."

"Wait," Tom took a step forward and the little boy stepped back, now trapped against the sink as Tom brushed his cold fingers against the swollen skin, "This bruise is healing, Harry."

Green eyes found the floor and refused to look away, "That's strange? Must be magic, right?"

He went to pull on his shirt but Tom stopped him and took a closer look, "Harry…"

The dark warning had Harry flinching away, violently, nearly slapping Tom in the process, "It's fine, Tom."

"No it's not! That looked like fingers, Harry. Who did that to you?"

Terrified, feeling trapped, anxious and desperately seeking to get out Harry shoved his arms into the sleeves of his robes and pulled them closed over his unbuttoned shirt, "Why do you even care? Perhaps it's a week old, Tom! Maybe just maybe, it happened because you were too stuffed with yourself and your new friends to notice!"

Tom's mouth tightened and he turned and stormed out of the room without another word. Harry quickly buttoned up the damp fabric and wondered if the chills racing along his spine were from the now clean robes or Tom's hardened eyes.

(0,0)

Of course, if Harry thought Tom was going to just let this go he was in for a shock. Tom had his mind made up already when he stormed from the bathroom. If Harry wouldn't tell Tom what was happening; then Tom would make sure he had to tell someone. He had one person in mind as he wandered the hallways, unfortunately he stumbled upon someone else first.

"Mr. Riddle. I do believe the students are all supposed to be enjoying their lunches in the Great Hall. Care to inform me of your exception to the rule?"

Tom cursed his luck but shook his head. Harry didn't trust Dumbledore, even if the man was the one to tell them about magic. And there was no way Tom was going to give him any more ammunition.

"I was hoping to find Professor Beery or Professor Slughorn, sir. I had a question to ask them."

The man glanced at Tom over the top of his half-moon spectacles, "Perhaps I could be of assistance?"

Tom gave his best smile, "I would hate to be a bother, sir. I think that it would be best if I found my head of house."

The smile Dumbledore gave made Tom shake slightly under the unimpressed, doubtful gaze, "Very well, let me escort you, I do believe I just saw Professor Slughorn in the staffroom."

Tom didn't really want to follow Dumbledore but couldn't think of a way out without upsetting the professor further.

"Thank you, Sir."

The professor nodded and turned walking back the way he came. Tom followed after a slight pause, assuming that they were headed towards the staffroom. Turns and turns and portraits and statues and halls and doors and ghosts later, Tom had followed the professor to an unassuming door.

"Wait here, Mr. Riddle I shall see if either professor is in here, at the moment."

Tom nodded but needn't have bothered as the professor had already stepped into the room the door clicking shut behind him. The first year heard voices from inside and hoped that meant the professor had found Slughorn, now he just had to hope that he could get the Slytherin man away from the head of Gryffindor.

Which was unfortunately not to be. For when the red-headed professor strode out it was with a slightly overweight, frazzled, balding man by his side. The man's beard had seen better days as the oily white whisps fell unevenly across his upper chest. Truly the man looked more potato than man and the eleven-year-old felt sorry for Headmaster Dippet.

"Headmaster Dippet, sir."

The man nodded, "Mr. Riddle, correct? Professor Dumbledore said you needed to speak with Professor Slughorn concerning something?"

The boy raised his head up then dropped it slightly, not quite sure where this was going.

"Unfortunately, Professor Slughorn is out gathering ingredients, but I would be glad to be of assistance. If that is agreeable to you?"

Tom swallowed, "It's just… I needed to report something that happened to Mr. Riddle."

Dippet frowned along with Dumbledore, "Something that happened to yourself?"

The boy smiled and shook his head, "No, sir. Harry Riddle. He's a first year Hufflepuff, sir."

"They are from the same orphanage, Headmaster."

Tom flinched at the easy way the transfiguration professor just spat out the truth of his living conditions.

The headmaster nodded, "Ah, so you're worried about your brother then?"

The boy frowned, he really hated all of the questions they got about this, "Harry's not my brother. He didn't have a last name when he came, so our caretakers gave him mine. But that's not the point, you see-."

Dumbledore and the Headmaster began speaking at once.

"What do you mean: he's not your brother?"

"What do you mean: he didn't have a last name?"

The headmaster gave a raised eyebrow to Dumbledore who nodded his head and gestured for the headmaster to speak first.

"This boy, he didn't have a last name?"

Tom shook his head, "His relatives were awful to him, you see. So he barely remembers his own name some times and he never talks about them. So when no one came asking…"

Dippet looked horrified, "His parents didn't tell him his name?"

"His parents are dead. He was raised by his aunt and uncle or something, but that's not the point! Something has happened you see and-."

The Slytherin's frustration was obvious but the adults continued their oblivious streak and turned to each other instead.

"There is a good chance this boy has a family in our world, Albus. We must speak to him and see if we can discover his family and return him to them."

"I'm sure his relatives our worried," The transfiguration professor nodded.

Tom shook his head, he couldn't believe this!

"They don't care about him, they would have found him if they did. But I wanted to talk to you about something else, you see I found him in the bathroom he was cleaning mud off of his robes from a flying accident and I happened to see-."

"Another flight accident? Did we not just have one with the Slytherin and Gryffindor students?"

Tom barely restrained himself from stomping his feet with his frustration. What good were the adults if they weren't going to listen? Harry was hurt and there wasn't anything Tom could do, but they should be able to fix it if they would only listen!

All of Tom's attempts to interrupt the professors were met with half-attention and a complaint about the disruption or an assumption about Tom's topic. He could not break through their words and enough was enough. Tom spun on his heel and stormed off.

He managed to find the library with the help of the portraits and began digging through some of the more advanced spell books. The younger boy had looked so scared in those few minutes in the bathroom, all wide eyes and pale skin, a mirror image of when he had first arrived at Wool's. Tom focused on the image as he started flipping through tables of contents and corresponding indexes. He would protect Harry if it was the last thing he did.

(0,0)

Of course, the confrontation in the bathroom was only the start of Harry's day as well. He had barely made it to lunch and had grabbed just an apple before Max had dragged him to Defense. And he had only been there for maybe ten minutes before a paper bird flew through the window and landed on the professor's desk.

The man had been cut off mid-lecture, Professor Merrythought had read the note through twice before glancing up and meeting his eyes.

"Mr. Riddle. You are to go straight to Headmaster Dippet's office following this class."

Sudden whispers broke out and Harry felt his face flush even as he mumbled his understanding. He spent the rest of the class staring determinedly at the parchment in front of him and avoiding the questioning pokes from Max.

He had no idea what the Headmaster could want from him. He only hoped he wasn't going to be sent home.

Merrythought's class was unable to capture his attention as his thoughts seemed to continually drift to all of the ways he could be sent home. Would they make his forget all about this place? Would they take his magic? Would he be able to see Tom again? Would he be able to go back to Wool's? Or would they send him back to the Dursley's?

His thoughts tumbled and twisted over each other as the time crept by. It was only when their books were packed and Max patted him on the shoulder saying something about taking notes for him in potions that Harry realized he had no idea where he was supposed to go.

"Mr. Riddle, you're supposed to be heading off to meet with the Headmaster, remember?"

Harry nodded and chewed on his bottom lip, "Umm… Yes, sir, but I don't know where his office is, sir."

The professor frowned before he nodded as well, "I have a solution, why don't you wait right up here, the students for my next class will be in soon."

Harry moved where the professor pointed but couldn't understand what was happening. Wasn't he supposed to be heading up to meet with the headmaster? Why was he waiting here? Was the headmaster going to come get him instead?

The question was answered when a familiar face walked in to the room, "Ah, Mr. Kettleburn. Mr. Riddle here has a meeting with the headmaster. If you would escort him to the office, it would be most appreciated. You can leave your stuff in here and return just as soon as you have delivered your charge."

The prefect frowned at Harry but handed his bag over to a friend before nodding once.

"Come then, Riddle. I would like to be able to catch at least part of this class, if you wouldn't mind."

Harry scurried to the prefect's side and fought the urge to flinch when the boy's handed landed heavily on his shoulder and started guiding him out the door.

"If you cost us points, you're going to be making it up all year. Bad enough you can't follow the rules in the dorm but getting called to the Headmaster's office? And in the first month of school?" Kettleburn scoffed, "I didn't even know where his office was until I got picked to be a prefect this year."

The first year said nothing, keeping his head down as he hurried to keep up with the prefect's long strides. He had no idea why he was being called to the office, but had a feeling that talking to the prefect about it wouldn't get him very far. Besides he was still worried about upsetting the older boy. He seemed nice enough to the other kids, unless they broke the rules.

In Harry's opinion, the boy was more worried about points than his house but saying that out loud would likely cost more than points. So Harry just hurried his steps and said nothing other than a brief thanks when the prefect gave the password and he rushed passed the gargoyles, up the spiral staircase and paused only when he came face-to-face with the solid wooden door.

The eleven-year-old swallowed heavily and raised a shaking hand to the door. All of his worst fears seemed to echo in the dull pounding of his fist and his heart.

"Oh…er…yes. That is- Enter!"

Harry dropped his hand to the handle and stepped into the circular office which appeared in the empty doorway.

"How can I help you today?"

Harry cleared his throat, "Um, yes. I'm Harry- Harry Riddle? You asked for me? I was supposed to come here right after defense class."

The man raised a brow, "And why didn't you?"

And Harry officially felt like he had lost track of this conversation, "I did, sir. That's why I'm here."

Suddenly Headmaster Dippet seemed to blink and the day seemed to click into gear, "Oh, yes. It has come to our attention that your name is not truly 'Riddle' we believe that you could very well have a family in our world and that we could restore you to them. If you would be willing to part with your name?"

"I don't understand? My parents died in a car crash, sir, I don't know how anyone here would know them."

The man nodded, "Yes, well stranger things have happened. Could you tell us your parents' names?"

Harry shook his head, "I want to be Harry Riddle, sir. I like Tom and I like my name."

"But you could have a family. You could have a home with people who knew, perhaps who loved your parents. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"I did that, sir. I lived with my mother's sister and her husband and her son. And I am happier as the orphan Harry Riddle."

Headmaster Dippet frowned, "Your brother seemed to have a different perspective. He seemed to believe you are unhappy when he approached me."

Green eyes tightened in confusion, "Brother?"

"Oh, excuse me," The man shook his head as if to clear it, "Your friend, Tom Riddle. He approached Professor Dumbledore and myself this morning about his concerns."

"His concerns?"

"His concerns about your leaving your relatives and the information regarding your name. He seemed most desperate to speak with someone about it."

"Oh." Harry blinked away the sudden stinging in his eyes, "I didn't realize it bothered him so much."

"Who wouldn't it bother, young man? This is a pretty serious issue."

Harry nodded, but couldn't focus. He knew it was dangerous to ignore adults when they were talking, but he couldn't. Tom was so upset about the fact that Harry was using his name that he was going to the headmaster to deal with it. He thought Tom liked it. The boy had seemed so Harry but apparently that was just a front.

Turns out he really was nothing more than a freak.

To anyone.

He tuned in to Headmaster Dippet in time to hear the man asking him a question presumably it was no the first time.

"What is your real name, Mr. Riddle?"

He shrugged, "I don't remember. I can't, ever since I woke up in Tom's room. I hit my head you see, Mrs. Cole said it might be ambenitia or something because of that."

"Well, that is a simple problem. We can brew a potion for you, or two rather. One is well-known for restoring memories, the other is a less-well-known but still trustworthy bloodline potion. Although the bloodline potion has been known to cause other difficulties."

Harry shrugged, it wasn't like he could hurt anymore, right?

"It will take a while to brew them both, but Professor Slughorn should be reaching out to you within the fortnight."

"Of course, sir."

(0,0)

 **I have no idea where that came from. I've been is a tricky mental place lately and I guess I wanted to give some of my internal angst to the characters. Sorry Harry and Tom!**

 **Something that I've had a lot of questions about was Harry's memory, so I want to save some of you the confusion and reveal in a few years (in the story, it won't take me that long to finish- promise!). The potion Harry took was a de-aging potion, obviously, but it also went on to de-age his mind. I have a whole bunch of reasoning for it and you can PM me if you want more info (here or on Facebook) but I will be explaining all of this by the end of this fic.**

 **Thanks for your patience everyone, I know this was a long wait, but I was getting a little distracted**


	6. Chapter 5

_Since it's been a while…_

 _Harry has travelled back in time to befriend a young Tom Riddle. The now eleven-year-old Harry has no memories of his life after he was ten and has become Tom's unofficial little brother. They start Hogwarts together under the careful, judgemental eye of the transfiguration professor, Albus Dumbledore._

 _We last saw Harry in Headmaster Dippet's office before Dippet and Dumbledore. He discovers that Tom had been most desperate to discover Harry's real name. He has been told now that he will take a potion to help with his amnesia along with one to reveal his blood heritage._

 _Tom was last seen in the library, searching for a way to discover who has been hurting Harry (his real reason for speaking with the Headmaster) and a way to prevent it from happening again._

(0,0)

After the meeting with the headmaster, Harry began wondering if there was any reason to ever get back to the Dursleys. After all, it seemed like Dumbledore and Dippet were convinced that it would be better for Harry and were determined to find them.

But their reasons were not Harry's. Or rather Harry wanted what they wanted for him but… he'd never found it inside the walls of the Dursley house.

They wanted him to have the love of a family. But they didn't understand. Harry had been shunned, rejected, and tossed aside by his so-called family. And as far as Harry could remember they had been the ones to throw him into the orphanage.

The best thing they had ever done for him.

Now when Harry thought about family and home he didn't think about the Dursleys. He hadn't really thought about them in months anyway. Now he thoughts about Mrs. Cole, Miss. Lillian, Penelope, and Tom. Even though Harry wasn't quite sure where he sat with Tom at the moment.

When he thought about where he would be going for the break the small street where he'd grown up never even crossed his mind except perhaps in a nightmare. So no, he would not be returning to the small non-descript house in a non-descript neighborhood. Which was an easy decision and he really wondered why he was even thinking about that place.

If they tried to send him back he would protest, he would report everything. If all else failed, he would run away, back to the orphanage and take it from there.

The real problem Harry had now was how to react when he saw Tom. He couldn't believe that the boy really wanted to make Harry change his name. But Dumbledore said that Tom was the one who pointed it out. In fact, it seemed that Tom had been desperate to get the truth of Harry's family. But… the other boy knew about all of it and…

Harry shook his head, none of this was helping. Perhaps he just needed a new opinion.

(0,0)

"Riddle! Where are you hurrying off to again?"

Tom turned around and came face to face with the Italian boy and Rosier twins, "Zabini. Not that it would be any of your concern, but I am going to the library."

The boy made a face and was mimicked by the other two, "Again. Riddle I swear you've spent more time in that moldy old room that in your own dorm. What gives?"

"I am working on a project." He turned to leave, "Now if you'll excuse me."

Druella spoke up, "We don't have any projects, Tom."

"It's a personal project."

Tom suppressed a groan of frustration when a new face appeared at the end of the hall, "Riddle! Glad to see you talked him out of his isolation Zabini."

The Italian snorted, "Hardly, Avery. He says he's headed off to the library for a personal project."

The reedy looking boy groaned, "That Hufflepuff again?"

"Most likely."

Tom glared, "I'm helping him with something, and seeing as _he_ shares my names. I have no reason to continue this conversation."

The Slytherin stalked off, bag over his shoulder, ignoring the calculating stares sent his way by two of his dormmates.

(0,0)

Harry was sitting outside enjoying the sun and watching as Saryong slipped among the grass with not a care. He couldn't bring himself to ruin her good mood. Yet his thoughts could not turn away from the scene in the Headmaster's office. It was less than a week past, but Harry couldn't tell if it felt like a millennium had passed or mere moments.

His thoughts had continued chasing each other around without rest, his nightmares forcing him to bite his lip as he huddled under the no-longer warm duvet. The sun had taken its time before gracing the sky and starting the day.

But the warmth had enticed Saryong from her hidden places to request a trip out. So he had gathered her up at the start of lunch and they had found a quiet corner of the lawn where they would be free to talk without curious eyes.

Saryong had not been interested in talking though, instead he watched as she sunned herself on this rock and that before darting after some small animal. Her happy hisses made him smile but it felt more forced than he would have thought possible.

With her flitting around from place to place, Harry was startled to feel her warm body climb his leg and settle on his knee with the most serious expression he'd ever expected to see from her.

"Human. You is smelling wrong. I hope you fix it, but not yet. So speak, speaker."

The boy blinked, "I smell wrong?"

"Yes. Like too many smells. Not like."

"My apologies," He sighed and traced a finger down her back, "I had someone tell me something yesterday, about Tom."

"Other speaker."

"Yeah. He… he told them that I don't have my old name. They said he was desperate to get me to find it."

"But other speaker likes shared name."

"I thought so too."

"Speak to other speaker. He explain, you just confuse."

Harry had to laugh at that but could not deny the truth of the statement. He was too confused right now and at least by talking to Tom he could get a question answered. Or two. And if he was confusing Saryong enough that she had decided to confront him, perhaps it truly was time to go straight to the source.

Perhaps he could even find out what on earth was going on in the library. Harry was starting to think Tom was making duplicates of himself in order to spend even more time in the library.

He gathered Saryong into his arms before travelling back inside, she protested at the thought of being left alone so she settled in his pocket. More than happy to accompany him, after all it had been too long since she had seen the other speaker.

They were nearly to the library, right down the hall, when Harry felt something grab hold of his robes. Before he could think to fight he was dragged back into the darkness.

(0,0)

"Speaker! Speaker!"

A few students shrieked as the snake slithered across the floor. Tom's attention caught by the familiar voice. He followed the screams until he found the snake desperately flicking its tongue. Before he could say anything the snake seemed to smell him and seemed to sprint across the floor, instantly wrapping around the proffered arm.

"Young Master is in trouble! Nasty boys have in trapped. Master made me leave."

Tom immediately made his way towards the door ignoring the wide-eyed students and their terror.

Saryong easily hissed directions and Tom shuddered to think that Harry had been attacked again. Damn children! And curse Harry's small size. Perhaps it was time to go to the mediwitch. She might have a solution.

But all thoughts of planning ahead were lost as Tom caught sight of the dirty corner of a robe. He called out to the boy quietly and tried briefly tapping his shoulder. Harry's eyelids fluttered slightly but the boy made no motion otherwise.

"Harry? I'm going to get you to the Hospital Wing, okay? We'll get you better and they won't get away with this."

The boy made no motion, but Tom could see the moisture filling the crease of his eyes. Tom pinched his lips against the fury that welled up in his chest and hoped that he wouldn't jar the boy too much.

" _Wingardium Leviosa!"_

The small boy lifted off the ground and floated still as a board a meter off the ground. Tom didn't know whether he should be happy that they'd placed the boy in a body bind or not. At the moment he settled for neutral. The monsters had attacked Harry, but at least now Tom wasn't going to cause any more harm by taking him to the hospital wing.

(0,0)

Of course, even in Hogwarts people tend to notice someone floating an unconscious boy through the hallways.

It wasn't long before Professor Beery spotted them. The man tutted but sent off some kind of blue animal ahead of them. He then added a cushioning charm beneath the boy just in case and escorted them to the Hospital Wing.

When they arrived the mediwitch immediately gathered Harry close and sent Tom away as she began her examination. Professor Beery escorted Tom to a chair by the door.

"Tom Riddle? That's your name right?" Tom gave a slow nod.

"Harry is clearly enchanted with you, he speaks of you often. I can't let you stand to close right now, but I'll head over to make sure everything is alright with Mr. Riddle. Do you know what might have happened?"

"He was attacked by several students."

"You saw it happen, then?"

Tom shook his head, "A friend told me."

"You aren't hurt then?," At Tom's negative the professor gave a small smile, "I should like to meet this friend then- to discover more regarding the truth, now sit here and if this takes too long I will let Professor Slughorn know where you are and we'll get something to eat sent up here, alright?"

The professor waited for Tom's nod before giving Tom's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He then turned all of his attention towards his student and the Madame's examinations. Tom decided then and there that Beery was his favorite Professor.

(0,0)

Madame Lyronda had been the Mediwitch here for decades now. Nearly as long as Dippet had been the Headmaster. She had seen countless students, thousands of maladies, more than her share of injuries, and ten different epidemics. But if you were to ask her in a hundred years what she remembered- she had no doubt the name on her lips would be Harry Riddle.

First of all- the boy had been floated in by another first year. A talented friend this little one most definitely had. Of course, it became less impressive when she realized he hardly weighed 4 stone. He was short for his age too, but that could hardly account for the difference.

Then she had checked him for injuries and found that his magical core was working with the efficiency of an adult's as it worked to heal him. The boy had hardly a scratch on him which was impressive even if she was correct that this attack seemed to be more verbal and humiliation rather than physical. Eleven-year-old boys were often covered in this bruise or another.

Then she discovered that this was the Harry Riddle whom she was supposed to be seeing this weekend for a series of potions.

Deciding that she might as well take advantage of this to test him for his overall health and ability to process the potions she was shocked and horrified. The boy was healthy, more or less. But it was clear that he was recovering from years of malnutrition and likely at the hands of muggles who lacked the nutrient potions to truly overcome the damage.

Then she stumbled across something she could not explain.

The amnesia the boy was suffering from was induced by a potion. A potion this boy had taken willingly. The potion seemed to have integrated into the boy's core and was blocking memories and limiting his magic. Not dangerously so, just enough so that he would appear as an eleven-year-old wizard should anyone question him.

She had a feeling that applying a potion would at best do nothing to the boy's so-called amnesia and at worst would result in the loss of his magic.

Madame Lyronda shook her head, there was no way she could allow that potion to be administered but she couldn't help but wonder what the Lineage Potion would reveal.

(0,0)

Harry woke slowly forcing his blurry vision to blink into focus while fighting against the drowsiness which seemed to fill his body. He reached blindly for the bedside table and sighed in relief when he found his glasses and managed to actually see where he was.

The white walls, floors, huge windows, and crisp, militaristic beds convinced him this must be the Hospital Wing. There went his hope that the Slytherins had been nothing more than nightmares. He turned his eyes to the ceiling and thanked everything that they had decided only to verbally eviscerate him.

Well and cast a few well-timed spells. And judging by the fact he was here, perhaps those spells were worse that they had seemed at the time. Someone seemed to think so.

"Headmaster! This is not something to brush off. The child was attacked."

A familiar voice spoke up, "I hardly saw cause for concern, Madame Lyronda. Not a scratch on the boy that I could see." From that moment Harry vowed to hate Professor Dumbledore.

"Are you blind, Albus?" That was Professor Beery, "The child is was brought in here _unconscious,_ and as of this moment is _still_ _unconscious!_ Beyond that the fact that he was attacked at all certainly implies that a level of action _must_ be taken."

"Oh dear, quite right, quite right." Professor Slughorn?

"Aren't you typically the first to speak against the Slytherins, Albus?"

A pause, "Are you not among the first to insist we look beyond the house of a student? Perhaps Mister Potter was the one to instigate the confrontation. Perhaps the others were merely acting in self-defense."

This time the silence was deafening. Harry could hear his own heart pounding within his ears at the indignity of such a claim. Harry had never, _never_ , hurt anyone. The idea, well Harry was working hard to swallow the nausea that had arisen.

"How dare you."

Harry forced himself not to move at the most welcome voice.

"Mr. Riddle. I thought you were removing yourself for dinner."

"I brought food back, I thought Harry might like it if he woke up."

He could hear the matron's patronizing smile, "We don't know when that will be. Wouldn't you like to spend some time with your housemates?"

"No. I want to hear exactly what Professor Dumbledore is insinuating."

The professor cleared his throat, "I am merely saying that Harry's sorting into Hufflepuff does not prevent him from becoming a troublemaker. Look at Mr. Scamander."

"Harry didn't do this. Harry wouldn't do this. There's not a mean bone in his body, I watched him get bit by a stray dog, still feed it and then take it to the pound to be adopted. I only know he got bit because I saw him cleaning the blood off his shirt. Harry doesn't hurt people and he doesn't start fight."

"Young Mr. Riddle here has proven to me that he is more than capable of being aggressive. Within moments of meeting him myself the boy proved to be confrontational."

Tom blinked, "Seriously? That's what this is all about? You are mad just because he put out your fire and told you off? That was months ago!"

"I am not upset by the rants of a child, I am merely saying he has shown moments of aggression in his past."

"He thought he was helping me!"

"And you say he would not do more damage if he believed himself to be helping you?"

"Enough! Albus you are a grown man and you have no business arguing with this child. Tom, please do me a favor and go back to your dorm. I promise I will alert you the moment Harry awakens. We have to make some decisions about Harry's care." Madame Lyronda's voice was simple and soothing.

Harry heard Tom shuffle his feet but didn't hear him moving away, "Couldn't I help with that? I know him better than anyone…"

"Not at the moment, but if we have questions we will let you know. Professor Slughorn, could you take Mr. Riddle back to his room?"

"I'd be happy too, come along then Tom."

There was a long wait until the heavy infirmary door shut, "Headmaster I see no reason for Albus' presence at the moment. He is clearly not an unbiased party in this regard."

"I am the Deputy Headmaster and as such-."

"As such you are only required to present an opinion when asked. The only ones with input in Mr. Riddle's case are the Headmaster and Professor Beery."

Professor Beery spoke up, "After hearing what I have, I concur with Lyronda. I would prefer it if you were not to have a part in this conversation."

"Eh-!"

Dippet cut off Dumbledore's protest, "Perhaps it would be best to have you available for discussion with the other staff and students at this point."

The entire ward could likely hear the transfiguration professor's not-so-silent seething, "Of course, Armando."

And Harry listened as the usually calm Professor seemed to storm out of the ward.

"Have you received the potions from Horace, Lyronda?"

"Yes, but I am certain that the amnesia potion will not help the problem, there is a chance that it could actually make the situation worse. The boy's own magic appears to be blocking his memories. I fear that attempting to interfere with these defenses could permanently damage his magic or memories."

"I have never heard of magic acting in such a way," Beery frown carried in his voice, "Will he be alright?"

The matron hesitated, "I am unsure. The few cases I have heard regarding magic like this it was a defense mechanism. It is unhealthy to allow someone to block themselves off in such away, but forcing him to confront any entire life of memories could be worse. The best thing to do would be to discover why he is hiding his memories."

"But that could be anything…"

"Quite, I suggest we start looking at his friends and guardians to see what information they may have. Regarding Mr. Riddle's childhood."

There was a moment of silence, "The lineage potion will not have any adverse side-effects?"

"Not that I know of, Headmaster."

"See to it that they boy receives the treatment then."

"Headmaster, I-."

The man cut her off, "I can understand your hesitance, but even if it turns out that your concerns are well-founded, we will need the knowledge of their identities. There could be other children in their care, Lyronda. The lineage potion is a necessity, I expect Mr. Riddle to take it as soon as he awakens."

The matron let out a long sigh, "Of course, Headmaster. I understand."

"Thank you, Lyronda."

And Harry listened as Professor Beery and the Headmaster made their way towards the entrance and the heavy doors once again slammed shut. Harry counted slowly to ten in his head but could not tell if the mediwitch had moved away or not.

"You can stop pretending now, Mr. Riddle. I would like to speak with you regarding your situation."

Harry blinked internally but decided that if the matron hadn't ratted him out perhaps she really did mean well.

"I've asked the elves to bring you some dinner in a few moments, first I would like to know if you understand what will be happening."

"I don't have to take the amnesia potion cause there could be complications with my magic. But I have to take the lineage potion because the Headmaster is worried about other children and I could be an heir or something, I think."

"You understand rather well then. Tell me, Mr. Riddle, is there any reason you have to suspect that you cannot take this potion? Will it reveal something you don't wish us to discover?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I- I thought that the lineage potion only reveals magical blood?"

"Yes."

"I was raised by muggles, my aunt and uncle. So that's not a concern, I don't think it's going to work."

The matron bit her lip but nodded. Harry could tell she didn't believe that but she would just be in for a surprise then. The woman ordered him to eat something and then go back to sleep. She put up some privacy curtains and was about to leave when Harry spoke again.

"Why was Tom here?" He took a few bites of his food as he waited for her answer.

The woman seemed confused by the question, "He's been here as often as he could be since he brought you in here. Why are you surprised? I had come to understand that the two of you were friends."

"I thought we were too… I wonder if Tom was one of them."

Harry's eyelids grew heavy and he felt the tray levitate out of his lap and towards the bedside table. His last thought was disbelief at himself. Tom would never hurt him like that- at least not on purpose.

(0,0)

A glowing blue fox raced into the defense lesson and Tom found himself staring along with everyone else at the beautiful creation. Merrythought seemed actually bring his own thoughts into focus when the blue animal actually began to speak. Tom was sure he was one of the few to actually recognized the medi-witch's voice.

"Professor, Tom Riddle is to be sent to the infirmary immediately. Floo permission granted. No need for alarm."

The professor seemed to relax slightly but still stood and warned the class to stay in place even as he called Tom to follow him up the stairs and into the defense professor's office.

The man grabbed the same sparkling green powder Tom had seen in Diagon and threw it into the empty fire place with a movement brought from years of experience.

"Hogwarts Infirmary. Step into the flames, Mr. Riddle. No need for alarm you will simply appear in the Hospital Wing. Go on now."

Tom swallowed but allowed himself to be coaxed into the flame by the thought that this was about Harry and trying to run to the Hospital Wing would take far too long. It was with that thought that Tom forced himself forward and very nearly tumbled headfirst into the edge of the fireplace before finding himself spinning through the chimney and sprawling on the floor of the hospital wing.

"Mr. Riddle! Quickly now, I'm afraid we need your assistance."

"Madame Lyronda?"

"No time, Mr. P-R- Harry is having a difficult time processing some information, we believe you will be the only one to help at the moment."

"But what is-?"

"Tom?" The shaky, tiny voice that had filled Harry's first weeks at Wool's set Tom's teeth on edge. What had they done?!

He turned towards the boy and found him curled around his pillow, eyes frantically searching for Tom without the aid of his glasses. The boy was shaking and shivering and couldn't seem to catch his breath. Tom abandoned his quest for information only long enough to join Harry on the small cot and wrap his arms around the boy, nearly gagging when he realized that Madame Lyronda, Professor Beery, and the Headmaster were watching every move.

"It's me, Harry. What's going on?"

The boy shuddered a sob and the response took long moments to come. Moments Tom spent forcing himself to breath calmly and not hold the other boy too tight.

"They left me with them. I… I have a family, Tom. And they left me."

Tom felt his anger rise up at the thought but swallowed it in favor of more helpful words, "Hardly. No one would willingly give you up, Harry. Especially to those monsters. Perhaps the muggles kidnapped you? Then we could file charges and you'd never have to see them again."

"But why didn't they come for me, I'm never good enough, never!"

"Hush. I don't waste my time on mediocre individuals, Harry Riddle. I'm not going to start now."

There was a long pause and Harry seemed to choke on a laugh, but the resulting splutter had Harry taking long draughts of air and Tom watched as all three professors seemed to sigh in relief as the Hufflepuff managed first one deep breath and then another.

"They found my name, Tom."

"You're changing your name?"

Harry shook his head but seemed pained as he did so like he didn't know what to think or what was happening or anything and Tom asked the first question he could in order to avoid another incident.

"What's the name, Harry?"

Watery green eyes met brown, "Potter. Harry Potter."

Tom blinked, "Well… shit. You don't do things halfway, do you?"

The boy shrugged even as a wry grin twisted his lips, "Language, Tom."

(0,0)

 _I wanted to make this just a little longer but I think this is as good a place as any to stop! Please let me know what you think and remember that ten reviews receive a 24-update as a reward. This is a very dramatic chapter but it only gets better from here._

 _In case you're wondering, I have no idea what's going to happen. In my original outline, chapter 5 was going to be set in 4_ _th_ _year so… things got a little off track. I expect we'll kind of breeze through 2_ _nd_ _-4_ _th_ _year when we get there so just hang on and let me know if there are any cut moments you want to see or questions you want answered!_


	7. Chapter 6

Tom hadn't expected this. Sure he'd said he'd be supportive and objectively it didn't bother him, but that smile was terrifying. How did it come to this?

(0,0)

Harry sat on the stool in the middle of the Great Hall. The headmaster had stated that with the finding of his family and the subsequent changing of his name, the now Mr. Potter needed resorting for the school files. And now they had summoned the sorting hat, no fanfare this time, just a patched hat, Harry, and the Headmaster Dippet.

All alone in the middle of the room with every single student either staring at him or whispering about this surprising new development. There was a precedent for resorting, but all of the other situations had major medical or traumatic experiences involved. There had never before been a sorting just because of a name-change. So what was really going on with Harry Potter?

Harry tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat as the Headmaster cleared his own and lowered that hat upon Harry's head.

 _"Was I not just on your head, young Mr. Potter?"_

Harry blinked at the question, _"Did you know I was a Potter last time?"_

 _"It is impolite to answer a question with a question, Mr. Potter. But for the sake of time, yes. I was indeed aware of your true identity. The magic that conceals information from you, does little to impact my own knowledge."_

 _"Then you can tell me what's going on?"_

There was a pause, _"When you know more, Mr. Potter, come and speak with me. I will tell you what you need to know. Now if you would, I believe I should carry on with my matter. Are you certain that you wish to be placed in Gryffindor?"_

 _"I don't want to be taken away from Tom and this is the only way I can be with him almost the whole year."_

 _"Are you certain that Mr. Riddle will accept this change?"_

 _"He's promised."_

 _"Yet you are uncertain."_

Harry hesitated but took a deep breath, _"It's the best chance we have. I have to take it."_

 _"I do not believe that Gryffindor will truly support you, I believe the changes you wish to make will happen the best in your current house."_

 _"What changes are you talking about? The only thing I want to change is my house so that I can avoid anything else changing. Tom is my family, no matter what my blood says, and he will stay my family. I won't let anything else get in the way of that. Not even Tom himself."_

The sorting hat was silent for another pause, giving him time to take in the hundreds of expectant faces filling the hall. Harry almost asked the hat to just get it over with before he felt almost a smile around his mind, sending shivers down his spine.

 _"I do believe that you will succeed in your mission Mr. Potter, I doubt that you will give yourself another option."_

 _"What mission are you_ talking _about-?"_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat was lifted up off of his head before his question could be answered and Harry mentally cursed the conniving hat even as he walked over to the distracted applause of his new house. He sent an apologetic grin to his Hufflepuff friends and couldn't help but wave back at their spastic hands. Certain now that at least his Hufflepuff friends would show their loyalty and stay friends with him despite this complication. And he would still have some of his classes with them.

(0,0)

Tom was curious as to what had taken the sorting so long this time. Even last time, Harry had not been that long waiting. Although he seemed to be in a pretty intense conversation this time. Tom wondered how much Harry had to work to get it to call out Gryffindor. Perhaps he threatened the hat?

He shook his head, Harry had a hard time threatening anybody. No way he would do it to an object that was obviously so important to Hogwarts. But he also really couldn't see his timid little friend getting into a house known for its brave, brash, and bold alumni. Not that Harry couldn't be, but it just wasn't his typical way to face the world.

So now, Tom had no recourse but to support his little friend. And protect him because while there were a few upper-years frowning at their new member, he sensed there was something even more dangerous. No, not his own friendship or the member of Slytherin.

Tom had been honest when he told Harry that he didn't care about the inter-house feud. It seemed pointless to him and he assumed the majority of the working world would be able to look past any affiliations. And he could always digress if questioned or go to a different country where they were more tolerant.

The real problem Tom had was the Transfigurations professor who was staring at the new Gryffindor with a kind of twinkle in his eyes. A twinkle behind half-moon glasses that sent warning bells ringing through his head.

And Harry was going to be under Professor Dumbledore's thumb, the man was going to be watching Harry like a hawk and Tom couldn't help but worry about what the man had in store for the newest Gryffindor. Today would be a good time to talk to Poppy about that charm.

So lost in his own thoughts about Harry's future and his charm, Tom stood and left with the rest of the Slytherins, never noticing the wide-green eyes that followed him. It wouldn't be until their next class that Tom noticed the victims of Harry's worry in the form of red-rimmed and swollen eyes. However the real shock came when Harry turned away from Tom's offer of a seat, sitting by that King girl who'd gotten on the train with them.

Tom shrugged it off, it was probably just Harry trying to avoid conflict on his first day with the class. He passed Harry a note before they left the defense classroom with hopes that they could figure out a plan that night in the library.

(0,0)

Harry was running late on his way to the library. To be honest, he wasn't even sure he was going to come until Anna pushed him out of the portrait hole. When Tom had handed him that note after lunch in the Defense class he had every intention of standing the other boy up. It hadn't taken a genius to figure out that Tom was not happy with his sorting.

Tom hadn't even looked at him after he'd been sorted, just staying at the head table or at his own plate. But Harry knew that he might have misread it and had been trying to decide what he should really do during dinner. He couldn't decide. On one hand he could go see Tom and hopefully make amends, or Tom could be ready to tell him that he really couldn't handle to inter-house rivalry.

After dinner he had followed everyone up to the common room and spent an hour or so learning about the games they played, meeting his new house mates, and attempting to figure out why it was such a big deal he was in red and gold. Why was everything going to be different? Was Hufflepuff really so different? They laughed at the same jokes, at the same candies, and even the fifth and seventh years looked just as stressed.

Yet, somehow, some way, this changing of his uniform was going to let him keep his best friend, make a statement to the wizarding world, and gain a new family.

It didn't make any sense. It really didn't. Not to Harry, not to Anna, not to Amy, or Weston, or Max. They all thought the plan was insane. Weston kind of understood. He tried to explain it, but he said his family kind of stopped caring as much when a blood feud almost broke out between two brothers over the house rivalry.

Nonetheless, it was Anna who shoved Harry out of the door. She pointed out that Tom was a muggle-born just like them and it was very unlikely that he would get caught up in such rivalries. Hadn't Harry said Tom was incredibly smart? Smart people make careful, informed decisions, they don't fall victim to prejudice.

Harry couldn't argue with that. So he had allowed himself to be pushed out their portrait hole and begin the trek down to the library. And now here he was walking down the hallway about ten minutes after Tom had asked him to meet. He had definitely underestimated how long it would actually take to get here from Gryffindor Tower. How did they make it to class on time?

A sudden thought had Harry shuddering. His first class tomorrow was Potions followed directly by Herbology. There was no way he was going to be able to make it back to his dorm after breakfast which meant a heavy bag until lunchtime.

Shaking his head he very nearly walked headfirst into some terrifying, and familiar, Slytherins. Harry was quick to jump out of sight and he hoped that they weren't waiting for him. He peaked around the corner and swallowed at the sight. He could somewhat recognize their shapes but it was their gloating voices that set off familiar warning bells in Harry's head.

He didn't know all of their names, Tom never really introduced him, but he did recognize Avery and Malfoy. They were close enough to him in age that word got around. They weren't the scary ones though. Harry's fear came in the four other boys, one he recognized as a prefect.

"Riddle's still in there, but the Lion-Wanna-be is nowhere to be found." That was Avery and Harry felt his heart clench. He was one of the boys that had actually been decent to him before. But he shouldn't make assumptions. Maybe they were talking about someone else?

Alright, that may be him, but it could be anyone else too.

A fourth-year cut in, "That brat should have stayed in the Badger's where he belonged."

A little harder to argue but maybe it was someone who just acted like a Hufflepuff and-.

"I don't know what Riddle ever saw in that little menace," That was the prefect, "No talent, no name, and no power. But he at least had the foresight to pick someone with a fairly decent name. Still love to know how he convinced everyone he's an _actual_ Potter, though."

Fine. So they were waiting for him.

"Apparently, he's some kind of a bastard. They don't know where he came from, only that his heritage test names him as a Potter and a direct connection to the current Lord."

"Little snot thinks he's got it all figured out, doesn't he."

"He doesn't know how he's dragging his so-called friend down with him. If he had any sense he'd back off. Riddle is going to have a hard enough time establishing credibility with his background. Being connected to a greedy, line-claimer is not going to help his cause."

"Doesn't help that the little freak isn't good for anything, besides being a nuisance."

There was a pause before the tallest boy shrugged, "Maybe the coward learned his lesson. I'm somewhat disappointed. I could have sworn it would have taken at least two trips to the hospital wing before he connected the dots."

"Let's just get back to the dorms. I still have Merryweather's essay to write for tomorrow."

"Why do you always procrastinate?"

"I can't help it, it's in my blood, okay?"

Harry listened to the jovial bickering as it echoed down the halls and felt his skin crawling along in response. How some people could just flip a switch like that, blew Harry's mind.

And what in the name of Merlin was it about him that just convinced people he was worthless? He usually managed to put his relatives out of his mind, but just knowing that he was left with two people who were supposed to love him. Now the Slytherins were acting the same way. As though he wanted to have everyone staring at him. The very idea had his skin itching. And then out of nowhere this idea that he needed to be put into his place?

Then on the other hand he had this crazy powerful, pure-blood family who decided to adopt him. But they were only doing it because of his name and not because they actually thought he was worth something. He shook his head. He felt like this was a battle he had been fighting for longer than he could remember. Either people elevated him to a level he couldn't achieve or they disregarded him entirely. Everyone did it too. Even some of his Hufflepuff friend's could be condescending when Harry didn't pick up something right away.

Harry stood up straight in the alcove as a thought occurred to him. Tom had never done that. He'd seen Harry as he was and had never, never truly turned his back on him. Sure he'd only known Tom for a few months, but that was longer than most people he knew and maybe that was all it really needed.

He walked into the library. He would worry about what the Slytherins had said later. For now he needed to see his friend and find out what was going on.

(0,0)

Tom was becoming anxious. Harry was over half-an-hour late. At this rate they would barely have time for meaningless chatter. And Tom really needed Harry to be comfortable when they talked about what was going on. So often the new-Gryffindor liked to see the best in people, but in this case Tom was sure cynicism was the best option.

Suddenly, Tom remembered the last time he'd been waiting for Harry in the library. Avery had followed him up from the dungeons. What if the boy had started something? Could Harry be in trouble again? Tom cursed himself, Harry probably didn't even know how to get to the library from the tower yet. But he had asked the boy to come out and wonder the halls probably alone, just in time for curfew to become a problem.

Tom was going to go look for Harry. Worried that the smaller boy had been hurt again, Saryong may not be able to work the stairs if he got hurt on another floor. He wouldn't know until tomorrow if something had happened.

Or maybe, maybe Harry wasn't hurt. Maybe he had just decided not to come. Tom shook his head. Something happened.

The Slytherin got to his feet, shoved the few books in his bag and made his way to the door.

Only to crash right into the very body he had been looking for.

"Sorry- Oh! Hey, Tom. Did you know that there are way too many stairs between Gryffindor and here? No wonder there's hardly any Gryffindors here after dinner. It's way too much work. Tom?"

The older boy shook his head, "You do realize that Gryffindor is nearly the highest tower in the school, don't you? And you didn't plan ahead? Maybe you really are a Gryffindork…"

"Hey! I'll have you know I didn't even have to convince the hat to put me in Gryffindor. Although it did ramble off some nonsense about changes and a mission. But it just put me in so, no worries."

"It rambled?"

Harry blinked, "Well, yeah? Just like it did during the first Sorting. It asked me a few questions, made a few less-than-helpful comments and then put me in Gryffindor."

"That would explain the delay then. You truly are an enigma, Harry."

"Didn't it talk to you?"

Tom shook his head, "I could feel something odd but the hat was only on my head for a moment before it called out and then was removed."

"Something odd?"

He nodded, "It was like I was seeing myself in a new way. Like all of my accomplishments and mistakes were being judged. Like someone was rifling through my memory."

Suddenly talking to the hat was beginning to sound terrifying, "You think it can read our minds?"

Tom shook his head then paused, "Well- it is a magical artifact after all. I wonder if that kind of magic exists? The ability to read another's thoughts, to see their memories."

"That sounds…awful. I wonder if there's a way to block that kind of stuff."

"You're living proof that it would be, Harry. You've literally blocked off your memories from yourself."

"But the Sorting Hat said it could still read them. That it _still_ knew who I was. It was almost like it had been in my head before."

The Slytherin gave a hum that indicated deep thoughts. Harry knew he'd only moments to cut in before the boy was completely lost in thoughts and research.

"But- let's not worry about that right now. There's plenty of time to find answers in here. Why did you want to meet, Tom?"

"Oh." The taller boy headed over to a nearby table and sat down, setting his bag down on the floor as though he'd been there all night.

"Sit, I wanted… I'm worried… You might… You need to keep an open mind, okay?"

Harry swallowed nervously as he heard Tom stutter and ramble. The cool, calm, collected boy always knew what he was saying, "Tom, you're kind of freaking me out."

"I've been thinking, about why you've been re-sorted."

Harry frowned, "It's because I'm a Potter, remember? Lord Henry wants me to play the part so that a continual absence isn't really noticed."

"No," Tom shook his head, "I meant, I've been thinking about why that option came up. Dumbledore was the one to suggest it, right?"

"Yes… why?"

"Because it seems a little suspicious. He'd openly hated you since you bested him this summer. I mean he took points in class yesterday because you read ahead in our textbooks. What kind of professor does that?"

Harry shrugged, "He said it was because too much knowledge can hinder learning if you don't understand."

"Well it seems a tad suspicious then that he would pull you into his own house, right? If he thought you were this terrible person, then why would he want you to be tied to him?"

Harry's face slowly moved into a grin, "You mean that maybe he's starting to like me?"

The older boy blinked, "No. That's not what I was getting at, not at all. I was going to say it's because he wants you close to use you, to manipulate you, I'm worried that he's going to get you hurt."

"But he's a professor?"

"He's still human, Harry. And there's no way he's changed how he's felt about you."

Harry shook his head, "I think you're wrong, Tom. I mean- you're right, it doesn't make sense. But maybe he's really just trying to help. Maybe he thinks that he'll be able to help me if I'm in his house."

Tom groaned, "You didn't see how he was watching you after the sorting. He was planning something, Harry, and not a welcoming party."

Harry sighed, "Look, even if you are right- what exactly can I do? He's the Head of Gryffindor! I have to be under him in order to be close to you, I can't exactly ask to be sorted a third time. I'm just going to have to deal with Gryffindor and with Dumbledore if anything happens."

"I'm not saying you have to do anything, just be aware that he is not exactly going to treat you fairly. I don't know how but you're going to stand out from the crowd, Harry."

"I'll be careful, is that all you wanted?"

The Slytherin's typical frown appeared again as he cocked his head at Harry's tone, "I believe so. Unless you were going to actually believe me."

The Gryffindor sighed and tugged at his robes, "I believe you, Tom. I just need you to trust that I can figure out what I need for myself. I need to head back I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to climb back up and it's almost curfew."

"Harry-."

"Goodnight, Tom."

The smaller boy walked out of the library and Tom felt a wave of defeat wash over him.

"Goodnight, Harry. For your sake, I hope I am wrong."

(0,0)

Tom made it back to the Slytherin dorm moments after curfew. He'd decided to take some time and double check some facts before heading out of the library. Which turned into rereading a chapter or two.

As a result, he was conveniently pulled aside by Poppy herself the instant he walked in. Well it would have been convenient if it wasn't for the fact having her mad at him was not how he wanted to start. People tended to be more likely to agree if they were happy with you, or at least in a good mood.

"Mr. Riddle. You are out past your curfew. I hope you understand that in Slytherin this behavior is not tolerated. The traditional rebuke would include a trip to Slughorn and a loss of twenty house points."

Tom winced, granted he'd earned them ten points today but twenty was quite a high number.

Poppy paused a moment, "However- seeing as this is your first offense and I have an idea as to the reason, you are allowed one reprieve. The next time you are so much as a moment late you will be treated as though it is a second offense and given a detention and point deduction, understood?"

"Yes, Poppy."

The prefect went to leave but Tom stopped her with a small hand movement, "Did you have a question for me, Riddle?"

Tom swallowed, "Not really, but I was hoping that I could ask your advice on a spell I wanted to try?"

"Is it something for class?"

He shook his head and, refusing to look anything other than confident, met her eyes squarely, "It's a personal project, I want to help a friend."

"Potter, I presume? You realize that all 'personal projects' are supposed to be cleared by the head of house or at least another professor."

Tom said nothing just waited.

Poppy must have seen his determination. She met his eyes for a long moment before swearing on Merlin under her breath. Tom watched as she shook her head left then right before her eyes turned heavenwards with a deep sigh.

"Very well then, what's the project?"

Tom smirked, "I've been working on it for months now. It's a protection spell. Or, more accurately, it is a n observational ward. It's supposed to notify the caster if the person is in danger from another person who means to harm them."

The older girl blinked, "You realize this kind of thing is only good if a person _intends_ to hurt Potter. If it's an accident or even if he falls off a cliff- it's not going to do you any good."

"So far the intended attacks seem more likely. And I did not say it was Harry."

"Don't play witty, Tom, you'll grow into it but for now just accept the fact that I know. More to the point, however, warding is a fifth-year topic and that is only rudimentary and theoretical. I think the seventh years do minor warding, for explosions and such, but this is very much outside of your skill set, Tom. To be honest, it's beyond my knowledge as well, all I could really tell you is that warding is far too dangerous."

The first-year turned away, determined to do it on his own, when a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Don't be over-dramatic. I will not deny you the help, obviously you're smart enough to know that this is dangerous, I was reiterating the fact. However, I suggest that you drop the idea of warding Harry instantly. The repercussions are endless, more than likely you will kill him."

Tom opened his mouth but was cut off by a sharp, "Hush up and listen, Tom."

The boy's eyes were intent as Poppy outlined a different suggestion. It would take some more time but by time he was done it would certainly work and with no casualties, which was probably a good thing to consider.

Overall, Tom walked away with a new direction, a solid start, and a timeline. The only bad news was that the earliest it could possibly be ready would be Halloween and that would be pushing things. Still at least this was guaranteed to work and less likely to result in an expulsion if he got caught.

(0,0)

The new Gryffindor was sitting on a small chair that had appeared in the room overnight, along with a desk. He had discovered this room only a few days ago when he had been attempting to hide from one of the all-too-familiar Slytherins. He'd slipped behind a moving staircase and found himself in a small room lit by two sconces shaped like dragons. It really was small and empty when Harry had found it but yesterday a rug had appeared and today the chair and desk. Now the room made a perfect secret hideaway and Harry loved it.

With his own little space he could actually leave some of his school stuff here so he didn't have to lug it around and it gave him some space to think. Which was really appreciated especially since his sorting. No one had ever even walked by the door. And it wasn't like he was avoiding everyone, it was just convenient.

Okay.

Harry was avoiding Tom. And Charlus. And Poppy. And Dumbledore. And… okay he was avoiding basically everyone. It wasn't like he didn't _want_ to talk to them per say. It was just that he wasn't sure what he should be doing. So he had decided to make use of the small alcove under the moving staircase on the third floor.

A few weeks ago he'd heard some Ravenclaws talking about Tom. Even now, just a few weeks into the school year (and had it really been a month and a half already?) the older boy was making a name for himself. And not just with the Professor's who kept calling on him and praising him for his hard work.

The Slytherins liked him because he was gaining them more and more house points for knowing the answers and being able to demonstrate them, the Ravenclaws liked him because he was always asking good questions, the Hufflepuffs liked him because he had a nice smile when he used it and because of Harry, and the Gryffindors- well they didn't like him per say, but they did grudgingly respect him and had a hard time coming up with things to tease him about (which was about as nice as any Slytherin got).

Harry had even heard some of the purebloods suggesting that Tom couldn't be a mudblood, he had to be part of a good line, which Harry had quickly figured out was a good thing.

But the Ravenclaw's had been talking about Tom and his talents, when Harry had heard his own name from a few tables over.

"It's that Harry Potter kid who always has his attention though."

"I know! Riddle blew off Slytherin purebloods to study with him last night. If Riddle wants to gain any standing in this world as a mudblood and an orphan; he would dump that kid and fast. Sure the Potter's are a great name but even as a legitimized bastard that boy's getting nothing from no one."

They group had left soon after, but Harry had remained. He had kind of gotten used to the Slytherins saying stuff like that. After all, why would they want to be even remotely connected to a Gryffindor?

But hearing Ravenclaws made it more real somehow. Was Harry really pulling Tom down? Could he be something great if it wasn't for Harry?

Well of course Tom could be great, but could he with Harry hanging around on his coattails? Probably not. But every time Harry tried to give the older boy some space he would be dragged back in by this project or that and find himself back in his company. And he loved being there.

Even now, Tom was the only one with whom he felt truly safe. But was he abusing his safety-net? Would it be better for Tom if he was a little more independent? Why did it matter so long as Tom was the one choosing to get involved?

Harry ran a hand through his hair before shaking it out and doing it again. He didn't know what to choose, hence the hiding.

Well that and the fact that he was really confused about his sorting and Dumbledore. Tom had been right when he said that the entire thing smelled of a set-up but he couldn't see how. Why would Dumbledore want a supposed screw-up in his House? Before now the transfiguration professor had adored taking points from him. Harry had lost points for staring at him during a lecture literally a week before he had been resorted.

But since his sorting the man had arranged for Harry to have office hours with him every other week under the guise of checking on his transition and schooling. His first session had been yesterday, but all the man had done was grill him on his past. Despite Harry having medical proof that he had no idea about anything until a year ago. Except for some foggy memories of his 'family,' not that they knew about those or ever would if Harry had anything to say about it, he really had no idea about anything until he met Tom in front of the orphanage.

And Harry still didn't like the professor any way. Recalling the moment in the hospital wing when the professor had suggested Harry starting the fight that sent him there.

(0,0)

Two heads were bent over a book in the library. Researching charms, wards, and every other form of protection for their small friend. The older girl shut her book with a sigh, rubbing her fingertips against her temples. The girl suddenly sat straighter and glanced at the younger boy.

Poppy cleared her throat, "I need a break."

The boy nodded but continued to read.

The prefect rolled her eyes before reaching out with one hand and covering the page Tom's eyes were scanning, "I need a break and so do you."

The younger boy returned her eyeroll, "What did you have in mind?"

"Actually- I had a question I'd been meaning to ask you. Does Harry really have a snake?"

Tom grinned, "Yeah, she's our friend. Her name is Saryong, she told us it after Harry found her rummaging through the tall grass at Wool's."

Poppy started to nod, her mouth opening on another question when she froze. Silent for a moment she swallowed thickly and cleared her throat, "You both talk to her then?"

Tom shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so. I haven't talked to her much recently, she's been sleeping in Harry's dorm."

Poppy faded into silence and Tom finally seemed to notice something on her face, "What raises this question, Poppy?"

She shook her head slowly, "I can't believe it. Everyone thought it had gone extinct and now there are two of you in one school."

"What had gone extinct?"

"You and Harry are _parselmouths_ , you both have the Merlin granted the ability to talk to snakes."

Tom blinked, "I just told you that. It's how I knew that Harry was injured that first time. Don't you remember everyone complaining about the freaky snake in the library?"

"Yes, but no one said you talked to it!"

"What's the big deal, anyway?"

Poppy sat back and pursed her lips for a moment and sucking on her teeth before nodding once.

"Parselmouths are exceptionally rare, Tom. _Exceptionally._ Even more so than a basilisk. The last basilisk was born a dozen years ago. The last parselmouths died out a decade ago and they were the only family that had it left. You see they were the last descendants of Salazar Slytherin himself."

Tom frowned, "I… I assumed it was a typical thing. I figured that was why some people preferred some animals to others."

Poppy shook her head, "While some people have the affinity to communicate with other animals, there's never been anything besides myths regarding any other animal. It was assumed it was either a blood quirk, or a deal with the lamia, or something anyway. If there was an ability to talk to other animals, it's long been extinct. You and Harry are it."

There was a long bought of silence until Tom just shook his head, "Why the inquiry about Saryong?"

"Excuse me?" Poppy blinked at him, "You have potential proof that you are related to one of the most powerful wizards in British history and you're just going to walk around it?"

Tom nodded, "I am not interested."

"Tom, think about all of the respect you'll have. You could be one of the last connections back. There is no other family who can draw their lines back to Slytherin."

"Poppy, I saw what happened to Harry. People have completely changed their minds regarding him, and it is because of his sudden lineage. Besides, if I find out I'm a Slytherin, then there is the chance Harry will realize why and he could lose his family."

"There's no Slytherin blood in the Potters."

"Then how would Harry have the same ability."

Poppy frowned, "But you and Harry could prove that you're related, you could have a real family too."

"I'm not taking this from Harry, Poppy. I'll keep this all in mind, maybe I can do something with it in a few years. When I can be my own person and an heir that people would respect."

The prefect frowned but gave a slight head tilt that made Tom smile just slightly, "Thank you, Poppy. Now why the fascination with Harry's snake?"

"Do you know how hard it is to sneak an animal into this school? That has got to be a magical snake, okay, and she has to have bonded to Harry or something. I can't believe none of the professor's have said anything."

"We didn't sneak her in, Poppy. She slept in Harry's pocket the whole time, from apparition to barrier to train. Harry even talked to her in the middle of the Great Hall I think, at the Sorting."

"Why has no one said anything? They even know now that Harry has a snake, it went around the whole school."

Tom smirked, "Maybe that's why. Harry and I haven't said anything, so everyone is just assuming she is a rumor. You weren't sure yourself, until you asked."

Poppy shook her head, "You and Harry have got to be the _luckiest_ people on this planet."

Tom shrugged, "I don't know, sometimes it feels like Harry gets nothing but runs of bad luck."

The older girl had nothing more to say and could only sigh when Tom pointedly returned to the far too complex volume in front of him. She frowned, it was a good thing Tom was looking at protection, if he had the desire to look at the dark side of magic, at this age when everything seemed like an adventure, it would have corrupted him before anyone could even think to stop an eleven-year-old.

(0,0)

 _… So I thought I had like half a chapter to go so I kept putting this off. But I just added like four lines… Oops?  
Let me know if anything doesn't make sense because I'm not sure what's going on here anymore- it is definitely running away with me._


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